A Halloween Didy
by D. ZombiBrick
Summary: Yeah, I know, it's been 2 months since I did anything with this one, but I'm getting back into the groove here. Please continue to enjoy and review! Thanx!
1. Default Chapter

**__**

Intro

A man stood holding a short thick metal pole, looking over his creation, anxious to see the results of his latest experiment. Beside him, stood his other subjects, on his right, one of his first creations, a white-haired girl, on his left, a dark-haired boy.

They stood looking at the huge leech creature lying on a long table. It pulsed and the girl could see something writhing inside it.

The boy spoke up. "Why are we doin' this? Seems like a waste of time."

The man grew furious and struck the boy with the pole he had ready in case this experiment got out of hand. He smacked the boy in the face, knocking him backwards to the dusty floor. The boy slowly sat up, wiped the blood from his mouth, then cringed as the man turned to him, grabbed a handful of the boy's black hair and yanked him to his feet. 

The boy let out a yelp as the man pulled him close to his face and scowled at him. "Do not question what I do," he stated menacingly, "I didn't bring your miserable hide into this world to question me, got it?"

The boy quickly nodded his head. The man released him with a shove as the girl looked on, wanting to help the boy, but not daring to move. She had seen the master's temper get worse and worse as of late, and his cruelty towards both her and her brother became more frequent.

The leech creature suddenly split open across the top and slimy muck ran out of its body. They suddenly saw a child's hand reach out of the creature, then its head. The girl felt a wave of excitement as she saw the child's long curly red hair. It took a deep watery sounding breath, then coughed up the mucus in its lungs in a long spew. It struggled to climb out of the leech cocoon, getting its shoulders out, then fell back with a squishy thump. The master lost his patience as the child again tried to get out of the leech.

"Come on, get out of there, you little shit!" he yelled as he stomped over to the leech and snatched the child from it by the hair. As he dragged the naked child out and held it out in front of him, the girl's excitement died. The child was another boy. "Damn, why couldn't you have been a girl?" she thought to herself, "Just what I need, another brother."

The red headed boy howled with pain as the master held him up by his hair. The master shook the boy and hollered, "Shut up, you weed, and open your damn eyes!"

The boy's eyes snapped open as he hung from the master's hand, panting with pain and fear. The master drew him close and peered into the boy's eyes. "Damn it, still didn't get the eyes right," he stated angrily. He then threw the boy to the floor in front of the girl and the dark-haired boy. He lay there shivering and coughed up more phlegm from his lungs as the girl wrapped a woolen blanket around him.

The girl looked up to the master and nervously said, "It worked, master!"

"Not the way I had hoped it would," the man replied.

"He doesn't look much like us," the dark-haired boy stated. The girl glared at him, fully expecting the master to beat the boy again.

"It will soon enough," the man answered, "Decorate it any way you like." He turned and headed towards the door of the dark room. The lanterns flickered as he strode by them.

"What do we call him?" the girl called to the man.

The man paused in the doorway and, without turning, replied, "Call it whatever you like. It's your problem now. Just make sure its ready to do its job." 

**__**

Chapter 1 - A Halloween Diddy

The city of Townsville! A glorious Saturday morning that finds the entire Utonium residence bustling with activity! Well, almost...

Bubbles cracked the Boys' bedroom door open and peeked inside. It was dark as night in the room, but she could see the clock on the night table next to Brick's bed. It was already 8:30 a.m., yet they had not moved from their beds. She giggled as she pushed open the door and floated into the room. She passed Brick's bed and went to the bunk beds where Butch and Boomer slept peacefully. She drifted up to the top and hovered over Butch. She softly landed on the end of his bed and watched him sleeping.

"What?" Butch asked after she had stood there for several minutes. He slowly opened one eye and looked at her. "What did I do now?"

"That's the point," Bubbles replied, "You haven't done anything yet!" She giggled and began bouncing on Butch's bed. "C'mon, get up!"

Brick rolled over and watched Bubbles pouncing on Butch's bed. Her motion was causing both his brothers' heads to bounce off their pillows. 

"Bubbles!" Butch yelled, "Quit it!"

"Please," Boomer grumbled from below them.

"Well, c'mon, get up!" Bubbles insisted, "How can you guys sleep so much?"

"Better question is, why are you always up at the crack of dawn?" Brick replied with a yawn.

"Yeah," Boomer added, "No school today, why don't you sleep in or something?"

"Oh, come on, get up, guys!" Bubbles replied as she floated over to the light switch. "Professor's already made breakfast, you missed it!" she informed them as she flipped the room's light on.

All three Boys groaned at the sudden flood of light. They rolled over and buried their heads in their pillows. Bubbles returned to Butch's bed and dragged him out from under his pillow.

"C'mon, you promised!" she reminded him.

"Aw, man, why me?" Butch asked.

"'Cause you told her you'd take her, that's why," Brick reminded him.

"Yeah!" Bubbles stated.

Butch sat up and rubbed his eyes. "OK, OK," he sighed, "I'm up." 

Bubbles smiled and clapped her hands. "Finally!" She left the room as both Butch and Boomer crawled out of bed and got dressed. Boomer tossed a pillow at Brick, hitting him directly in the back of the head. 

"C'mon, might as well face the crowds, right?" he asked.

Brick pulled the covers over his head and answered, "Later...turn off that stupid light on your way out, will ya?"  
Boomer shook his head and flipped the light off as he and Butch left the room. They floated downstairs to find the other Girls sprawled out in the living room. Blossom, surrounded by the morning's newspaper, sat on the couch, munching on a bagel as she read through the day's headlines. Buttercup slept on the floor in front of the television with its volume blaring through the house.

Boomer yawned and pointed to Buttercup. "Did you get her up too early too?" he asked Blossom.

Blossom looked to her sister and replied, "No, she's grumpy in the morning, just like you."

Boomer shrugged and headed for the kitchen. Bubbles came racing from the side room with Butch's ice skates draped over her shoulder. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him towards the front door. "C'mon!" she insisted.

Butch dug his feet in the carpet and pulled back from her. "Hey, hold on, will you? Let me wake up first!"

Blossom snickered from the couch. Butch looked at her and scowled. 

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Blossom warned him, "You ought to know better than to promise Bubbles anything."

"That's 'cause I make you follow through!" Bubbles replied.

"Don't I know it." Blossom mumbled.

Butch looked at Bubbles and asked, "What, no breakfast first?"

Bubbles rolled her eyes and replied, "Oh, forget that! You missed it already!"

"Just go already!" Buttercup suddenly grumbled from the floor, "At least Bubbles won't whine anymore!"

"I do not whine!" Bubbles insisted.

Professor Utonium came from the kitchen and approached Butch and Bubbles.

"Where are you two off to?" he asked.

Bubbles jumped up and down with glee. "Butch is going to help me learn to ice skate!" she replied.

"Well, that's awful nice of you, Butch!" Professor stated.

Butch sighed, "Yeah, I'm just an all-around nice guy."

Professor looked into the kitchen where Boomer was making himself a bowl of cereal. He asked, "You're not waiting for your brothers?"

Bubbles shook her head as Butch replied, "Nah, Bubbles seems to think we ignore her if we all go."

"Well, you DO!" Bubbles informed him, "That's why I can't skate!"

Professor held out some cash and said, "Here, just promise me you'll get something decent to eat, OK?" He handed the money to Butch who stuffed it into his pocket. "Yeah, OK." Butch answered.

Bubbles dragged him outside and they shot off into the sky. Professor stood at the door and watched them take off, shaking his head. He closed the door after them and turned to Blossom. "Well, that's two more...where's Brick?"

Blossom pointed towards the Boys' upstairs bedroom. "Still lazing in bed." she answered.

Professor shrugged. "Well, let him. Nothing pressing right now anyway."

**__**

Chapter 2

Two hours later, Professor and Buttercup stood in the upstairs hallway putting clean towels away when Brick finally emerged from the bedroom. He wore a pair of black knee-length shorts and carried his red and black shirt and red hat with him. He still looked tired as he made his way past them towards the bathroom.

"Well, good morning!" Professor said cheerfully.

"Hey, Professor," Brick yawned.

"Nice eye," Buttercup stated.

He turned to scowl at her as Professor noticed Brick's right eye was blackened and swollen. "Good grief, what's that from?" Professor asked.

Brick continued into the bathroom and stood looking at his injured eye in the mirror. "If my calculations are correct, it was Fuzzy Lumpkins, in the library, with the lead pipe." 

"Next time duck," Buttercup said. Brick threw his clothes on the floor and made a quick move to go after her, but she took off down the stairs and into the living room. She stood chuckling at him as Professor grabbed his arm. 

"No fighting." Professor reminded him.

Brick retreated a step. "I know, I wasn't gonna," he stated as he bent down and retrieved his shirt and hat. Professor shook his head and went downstairs. Brick sighed and returned to examining his eye in the bathroom mirror. 

He made his way downstairs a few minutes later and plopped on the couch next to Blossom who was still reading the newspaper.

"Gee, that IS a pretty one," Blossom said as she looked at Brick's black eye.

"Yeah, thanks a lot," he replied, "You could've warned me, you know."

Blossom shrugged. "I did, you just weren't paying attention."

Brick rolled his eyes and got up. He wandered into the kitchen where Boomer was finishing his cereal and studying a word puzzle on the cereal box. Brick opened the refrigerator and got out an apple and the orange juice. He drank the juice from the container and peered over Boomer's shoulder.

"It says 'New Orleans, Louisiana'," Brick informed Boomer.

Boomer looked up at his brother and asked, "How did you know?"

Brick shrugged and answered, "'Cause I did it already."

"Great, thanks a lot," Boomer replied sarcastically. "That IS a real shiner, by the way," he added after seeing Brick's eye.

Brick nodded. "Yeah, I heard. Worst thing is, I probably won't be able to play Tuesday's game." 

"Wear a face shield," Boomer suggested.

Brick snorted. "Yeah, right, like staring through a dirty fish tank. Sign me up for that one."

"Well, it's either that, or you don't play and Butch and me get stuck with either Elmer or Mitch on the line with us again. Neither one of 'em are any good at centre," Boomer stated, "In fact, they both suck."

Brick bit into his apple and replied, "Relax, that's three days from now." He indicated his black eye. "Maybe this will be gone by then."

"Yeah, and maybe Bubbles can fill in for you by then, huh?" Boomer shot back, "She dragged Butch off to teach her how to skate today."

They looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter. 

"Maybe I'll fill in for you instead." The Boys hadn't noticed Buttercup in the kitchen doorway, hands on her hips, listening to their conversation. 

Brick and Boomer broke into fresh fits of laughter at her comment. "What's so funny about that?" she demanded angrily, "You think a girl can't play ice hockey or something?"

"Definitely not Bubbles," Boomer replied.

"Even if Bubbles **_could_** skate, girls don't play hockey," Brick stated, "League rules."

"I can skate just as well as you guys," Buttercup stated confidently, "Probably better than you guys."

Brick chuckled. "Doubt it. Doesn't matter anyway. League rules. Girls don't play."

"That's why it's a "Boys' League", get it?" Boomer asked.

Buttercup crossed her arms in front of herself and furrowed her brow, preparing to argue further when Brick held up his hands and shook his head. "I'm not going to argue over this with you, OK? I'm done." He headed passed her and into the living room. 

He continued passed Blossom on the couch, still reading through the newspaper. He paused to pull on his shirt and asked, "How can you read that stuff?"

"Just staying informed," she replied, "Always good to know what's going on in the world."

"Yeah, but it's always bad. Look..." Brick pointed to the headline on the page Blossom currently had in front of her and read aloud. "...'Another Disappearance in Dayton, Ohio, Foul Play Suspected'..."

"Yeah, that's like the fourth or fifth person in that area," Blossom informed him, "They think the cases in Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, and now Dayton are all related somehow. Same scenario in each case, anyway."

"Like what?" Brick asked.

"Well, so far in each case, remember there's over twenty of them now, including this one, somebody is reported missing, in this case here, this guy was a police officer who didn't come back to the station after his shift was over. They do a preliminary investigation and find a blood spot or a single bone or a personal belonging in a secluded area of the city, either in an alleyway or under an overpass or something, but always on pavement. Never a whole body, at least not so far, and never out in the middle of nowhere, like a field or something. Almost like they want somebody to find the evidence. DNA testing is the only way they've even been able to determine who some of these missing people have been." 

Blossom looked at the map included with the story and remarked, "Also seems like they're heading west, if this map is accurate. This all apparently started in Philadelphia and has gone from there."

"So, they just pick a place, take a few people, and move on, right?" Brick asked.

Blossom nodded. "That's what it seems like so far. If that's the case, they're about done with Dayton. They'll move on soon. Always a big city, too."

Brick shook his head and chomped on his apple. "See, always bad."

**__**

Chapter 3

Bubbles skipped along the sidewalk humming to herself and sucking on a lollipop. Butch wandered behind her, intensely studying the small video screen on his Game Boy Advance machine. He frantically pushed the buttons in an attempt to get Mario passed the various villains and killer mushrooms that would otherwise end his game. 

"Aw, man!" Butch grumbled as Mario went down again.

"My turn!" Bubbles insisted. Butch handed her the game and they continued on. They had spent the entire day at the skating rink and Bubbles was extremely proud of her accomplishments in skating. She felt like she was on top of the world. 

"Wow, I didn't realize it was so late," Butch stated, "It's getting dark already."

Bubbles nodded. "Yeah, but I had fun today! Thanks, Butch!" She paused her game and leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. He grumbled, "You're welcome."

They suddenly stopped as they heard what sounded like giggling from all around them. Looking around, they saw no one else in the narrow street, but both had the distinct feeling they were being watched.

"C'mon," Butch urged Bubbles. He took the game from her and put it in her backpack. "Let's see what's going on." They continued down the street and turned the corner. Butch's eyes glowed as he used his night vision to check for anyone following behind them.

"Well, what do we have here?" They spun around to where the voice with a slight British accent was coming from. Butch peered into the darkened alley and made out what looked like a young girl, roughly the same age as he and Bubbles, standing in a windowsill.

"I dunno, what do you think?" Butch and Bubbles turned again as another voice, also with a British accent, sounded behind them. Butch again searched the darkness, this time catching a glimpse of a young boy scampering up a wall as quickly as a spider to perch on top and follow their movements.

"Hmmm, looks like a snack." The third voice, complete with British accent, came from along side the pair. Butch caught sight of a second young boy making his way towards them from a dark doorway.

Butch and Bubbles stood back to back as the three closed in on them. The three giggled hysterically as they moved towards Butch and Bubbles.

"Isn't it passed your bedtime?" Butch yelled angrily.

"Let's just go," Bubbles insisted.

Butch shook his head. "No, I wanna know who these guys are."

"Awwww, where's mommy and daddy?" they heard the girl ask.

"None of your business." Butch shot back.

In the darkness, their eyes glowed yellow until they emerged into the light of a streetlamp. There were indeed three of them, one girl and two boys. The girl had long snow white hair with bangs across her forehead and the long sides tucked behind her ears. She also had ghoulish purple eyes. 

One boy had long jet black hair with grey streaks through it pulled into a ponytail that reached his shoulder blades. His eyes were the grey of gathering storm clouds. 

The other boy had fire red hair, parted on the left side, that hung in long spiral curls to his waist. His large eyes were orange like a Halloween jack-o-lantern. He also looked incredibly familiar.

They all wore black denim shorts and short sleeved black shirts, no shoes, and each had several silver rings in each ear. Their skin was ghastly white. They each also had horns. 

Their horns stuck out from their hair roughly an inch and a half tall on top of their heads. They looked like devils.

"Little early for Halloween, isn't it?" Bubbles asked sarcastically.

The three burst into giggles again as they closed the distance between themselves and Butch and Bubbles. They suddenly sprang at Butch and Bubbles, hissing like cats. Butch and Bubbles shot up into the air and hovered over the three. They were stunned as they discovered they missed their target. The girl looked up and her eyes widened at seeing Bubbles and Butch floating above their heads.

"HUH?" she exclaimed.

Butch chuckled at her. "Not used to having the odds against you, huh?" he snarled.

"Now it's bed time!" Bubbles stated. She and Butch both shot lasers at the three who quickly separated to avoid the blasts.

"Get out of here!" the girl shouted. They took off in different directions, running faster than Butch and Bubbles had ever seen anybody run, including themselves.

"C'mon, get 'em!" Butch shouted. They blasted off after the black-haired boy as he quickly climbed walls, jumped over cars' hoods, and scrambled under debris in an effort to escape Butch and Bubbles. The girl wasn't too far from him, so Bubbles and Butch followed them. The red-haired boy would have to wait.

Butch and Bubbles zoomed overhead of the two trying to keep track of their movements. The two scrambled through the streets trying to zigzag as much as possible to confuse Butch and Bubbles. The boy headed left at one corner and the girl took off right. Bubbles followed the boy as Butch went after the girl.

Bubbles suddenly lost sight of the boy. She continued on trying to find him when she suddenly felt someone grab her left arm and slingshot her around 180 degrees directly into a building wall. She smashed through the wall, head first, and landed with a thud on the floor inside. Broken masonry collapsed in on her as she tried to cover her head. A huge chunk of the wall bashed her in the head and she blacked out. 

As the dust settled, the boy cautiously approached Bubbles where she lay in the pile of broken bricks and cement. He stood over her and chuckled as he shook his head. "Don't know what you are, but you're weird." 

As he slowly backed away from her, he tilted his head and sniffed the air. He left Bubbles in the pile and headed out of the building. He scaled up the building's wall and ran across the rooftop.

Butch was directly behind the girl though she continued to try to swerve back and forth to avoid him. He accelerated and tackled her from behind. They tumbled forward through a door, breaking the rotted wood in, as Butch wrapped his left arm around her throat and grabbed her right arm and twisted it behind her. She screamed like an animal and struggled to free herself from his grip. She tried to turn to kick at him, but Butch trapped her legs under his.

"You're caught, just give it up, will ya?" Butch shouted at her.

She continued to fight him off. She managed to get his arm out from around her neck. Butch screamed with pain as she bit into his arm causing him to release her. She tore away from him and jumped to a workbench under a window. Butch wrapped the end of his shirt around his arm which was now bleeding heavily. The girl glared at him in the dark and Butch realized that she held a chunk of his flesh in her teeth. He watched, stunned, as she slurped the chunk into her mouth and chomped on it. She grinned a wicked grin, and Butch saw that her teeth were pointed and looked razor sharp. She giggled and said, "MMMMM, sweet meat!"

Butch became enraged and lurched after her. She quickly spun around and smashed through the window and leaped across to the next building. She went through another window and tumbled across a room full of lockers. She rolled back to her feet and took off running again as Butch was right behind her. She ducked out of the room and down a hallway. Butch flew behind her as she headed through a large metal door. She slammed the door behind her and Butch heard the lock turn from the other side. He hit the door at full speed, blasting it inward off its hinges. He stood in a large room that looked like a boiler room. He didn't see the girl, even with his night vision. His rage continued to build the longer she remained out of sight and his forearm throbbed from her bite. He methodically searched the room for any signs of the girl. 

He suddenly heard a screeching noise followed by two distinct howls. He then heard glass breaking and took off like a shot towards the sound. He caught a glimpse of the two boys helping the girl out the broken window and outside the building. Butch reached the window in time to see the three leap from the building and fall roughly 8 floors before catching on a power line. The red head slashed the line with his fingernails that looked more like cat claws causing it to spark briefly, and the three rode the cable to the ground.

"What was that?" the red head asked the girl, referring to Butch and Bubbles.

She shook her head. "Don't know. Let's not worry about it right now," she replied, looking to the sky, "We need to move."

They turned to head out of the alley and stopped short. Butch hovered directly in front of them.

"Uh-oh," the black haired boy mumbled.

The three turned back to the wall and started to climb quickly. Butch blasted the wall just above their heads with his lasers causing the three to drop back to the ground.

"You three are grounded," Butch snarled.

The girl smiled sweetly. "That's what you think..."

The three inhaled deeply and as they exhaled, a thick fog began to surround them. Butch noticed the temperature within the fog dropping dramatically. He began to head towards the three hidden in the fog.

"Enough games!" he shouted.

He stopped suddenly as a what looked like a huge bat came out of the fog towards him. Its eyes glowed yellow and its long snout opened to reveal its many fangs. Its wingspan was easily seven feet across and as it screamed towards him, Butch ducked to the ground. It zipped over his head and its jaws snapped shut within inches of his ear. The beast screeched its dismay at missing Butch, and headed out over the city. The fog cleared and Butch saw that the three were gone. He quickly used his night vision to search the area, then looked for the bat. He realized he had lost them.

He raged over his failure then picked up a cinder block and flung it with his remaining good arm through a car's rear window. He then flew off in search of Bubbles.

**__**

Chapter 4

"My God, guys, what happened?" Buttercup exclaimed as Bubbles and Butch entred the house. She went to Bubbles and examined the huge lump on the back of her sister's head. Bubbles stared straight ahead with glassy eyes.

"Professor!" Blossom shouted as she ran towards the door to Professor's lab. Brick and Boomer came from the side room to investigate the commotion.

"Butch, you OK?" Boomer asked upon seeing Butch's shirt soaked with blood.

"What happened?" Brick asked. He took Butch's arm and carefully peeled his shirt off the wound. "Holy cow, what's this?" 

There was a large chunk of flesh ripped out of the top of Butch's left forearm just below his elbow and a section of skin roughly three inches long had been pulled away towards his wrist as well. 

"Something bit me," Butch answered angrily. Blossom returned with an ice bag for Bubbles' head and several clean towels. 

Professor Utonium entred the room and approached Butch. He carefully examined the wound on Butch's arm and shook his head. He seemed both shocked and angry, as if he had seen a similar wound before. Butch grimaced as Professor took one of the towels and carefully wrapped it around the wound. 

"Out to the car, kids, we're going to take them to the hospital right now," Professor stated.

**__**

Chapter 5

"It's OK, Butch, I promise," Professor assured him. Butch peered into the basin that had been placed on table next to him. The liquid inside it was a brownish-red and looked similar to chocolate syrup. He shrugged and carefully put his wounded forearm into the liquid. 

"Whoa, that burns!" he yelled as he snatched his arm back out of the liquid.

Professor gently took his arm and said, "It's an antibacterial wash, Butch, it'll only hurt for a second." 

Professor stuck Butch's arm back into the basin and held it under the liquid. Butch gritted his teeth as it cleaned the bacteria from his wound.

"Owwwwww," he groaned. Then the liquid felt cool on his arm. Butch looked up at the Professor and grinned. "Hey, that's neat!"

Professor smiled and replied, "See, told you."

Dr. Scott came into the room to see Butch. He was on the downhill slide of fifty years old, blue eyes, grey hair, and black-framed glasses. He loped more than walked to the table where Butch sat. "Doin' OK?" he asked with a kind smile.

Butch nodded. The doctor tilted the basin slightly so the wash would penetrate the large bite at Butch's elbow. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Just leave that in there while I finish up with your sister, OK?" 

Butch rolled his eyes as Dr. Scott walked back out of the room. "...My sister...," he grumbled.

Professor chuckled. "Well, she is,...in a way," he said, "You're all my kids now, so get used to it." He ruffed Butch's hair and gave him a light hug.

"Yeah, I guess," Butch replied.

Dr. Scott returned followed by a young nurse. The nurse carried a clipboard and she scribbled notes as Dr. Scott spoke to her. Dr. Scott came to the table and lifted Butch's arm from the basin. He pushed his glasses up his nose and looked at the wound. "You said you were bitten?" he asked Butch.

"Yeah," Butch answered.

"You OK here, Butch, I want to check on Bubbles, too," Professor asked.

Butch nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'll send your brothers in to keep you company," Professor said as he left the room.

"This looks like an animal bite of some sort," Dr. Scott informed Butch.

"I don't know what it was," Butch replied. 

"It would help if we knew what kind of animal it was, but that's OK, we'll just fix you up and send you home, OK?" Dr. Scott said, "This doesn't seem too serious."

"It is from where I'm sittin'," Butch replied, "Hurts like you wouldn't believe."

"Well, it doesn't look like anything that needs more than a good bandaging," Dr. Scott stated, "You'll be fine." 

He walked over to a cabinet as Brick and Boomer entred the room and leaned on the table Butch sat on. Brick sipped on a can of Coke and stated, "That's nasty-lookin'," referring to Butch's arm.

Boomer nodded his agreement. "What bit you, anyway?" he asked as he climbed up on the table and sat next to Butch.

"I don't know," Butch said, but they could both tell he was lying.

Dr. Scott came back to the table with a small blue plastic bin full of bandages, cotton balls, gauze pads and thread. Dr. Scott cleaned and bandaged the wound, wrapped it in gauze, then put several pieces of white tape on the gauze.

"All done!" he exclaimed. The nurse packed the blue bin back up and put it back in the cabinet.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you again, OK?" Dr. Scott said. He turned to the nurse, spoke to her again, then left the room. The nurse went to a drawer and stood with her back to the Boys. She returned to the table as Butch cradled his arm to his chest and rocked back and forth. 

"Have you ever had a tetanus shot?" she asked Butch.

"A what?" Butch asked.

"I'll take that as a no," the nurse replied. She produced a large needle and stuck it in Butch's right arm. He jumped and tried to pull away, but Brick shot over and held him still as the nurse pushed the plunger. 

"Hang on, will ya?" Brick grumbled at him. 

The nurse removed the needle and stuck a band-aid over the small hole in Butch's arm. "All done!" the nurse told him. She smiled at him, then turned and left the room.

"Man, that hurt!" Butch raged as Brick snickered at him and floated back towards Boomer, "I'm gonna kill that girl!"

"What girl?" Brick asked, surprised.

"The one that bit me, what do you think?" Butch yelled.

"Doctor what's-his-name said that's some sort of animal bite, didn't he?" Boomer asked.

"Well, trust me, it was a girl," Butch answered angrily.

Brick and Boomer snickered. "You got bit by a girl?"

"Yeah, keep laughin'," Butch replied, "It was a girl, a freaky lookin' girl, but a girl all the same."

"Freaky how?" Brick asked.

"I don't know, white hair, purple eyes, fangs, claws,...horns," Butch replied, "There's three of 'em, her and two boys. They don't fly, unless the big bat I saw was really them, but they're as strong as us and super fast, let me tell ya..." He looked at his brothers and saw they didn't buy his story.

"You think I'm makin' this up?" he asked.

Brick chuckled. "No, of course not! We believe you." He turned to Boomer and the two of them broke into laughter.

"Wait, I know, it was really a St. Bernard!" Boomer exclaimed.

"Nah, a Doberman!" Brick added.

"No, wait, I got it! A land shark!" Boomer cried as he and Brick laughed hysterically.

Butch got more angry the more they laughed until he stood up on the table, grabbed the basin and flung it at the wall behind his brothers. It hit directly between their heads with a clang, spilling the wash on them as they ducked, and fell to the floor with a metallic crash.

"It was a girl, OK?!" Butch yelled at them, "This isn't funny, this is messed up! I don't know what else to tell ya, but I know what I saw!"

Brick and Boomer slowly stood up to face Butch hovering over the table. Brick wiped the splatters of wash off his face with the sleeve of his shirt and approached Butch. 

"OK, we're done," he stated, a serious look on his face. "You calm down and we'll talk, OK?"

"Why bother?!" Butch screamed at him, "You think I'm lyin'! Why would I make something like this up? Do you really think I'd try to cover up a dog bite by saying a girl kicked my butt instead? You don't think I could fight off a stinkin' dog? What, I'm not only a freak, but I'm crazy, now, too?!"

"Whoa, we didn't say you were crazy, Butch, though you keep this up and we'll find the backwards tuxedo for you yet," Brick said angrily.

"Settle down, will ya?" Boomer insisted as he, too, cautiously approached the table.

Butch panted with anger as he looked first at Boomer, then at Brick. He then slowly drifted back to the table and plopped down. He sat cross-legged with his head leaning in his right hand. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Brick put his hand on the back of Butch's neck. "C'mon, man, relax. Tell us what happened, OK?"

"I told you, it was a girl. A girl and two weird lookin' boys. They were creepy and they were fast, I mean faster than us, no joke," Butch told them, "I chased the girl and Bubbles went after one of the boys. I caught her, but she got loose and she bit me. She even ate the chunk she ripped off me!"

"She ate it?" Boomer asked in amazement.

Butch nodded. "Sucked it up like spaghetti," he replied, "Seemed like she enjoyed it, too."

Brick chuckled and Butch shoved him backwards. "See, you don't believe me!"

Brick sighed and replied, "C'mon, I'm tryin', just at least admit it's a pretty wild story, right?"

"What if I told you's I believe him?" Butch looked up as Brick and Boomer turned towards the voice. They saw a young man standing in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of himself, grinning at them. He looked to be in his early to mid-twenties and stood roughly five feet ten inches tall. Though he was a bit thin, he was well-tanned and muscular. He looked menacing and his eyes were black as ebony. He had long black hair that had been twisted into dreadlocks that reached down his back and a black beard and moustache. He wore a black tee shirt with a Harley Davidson Motorcycles emblem emblazoned on it, black jeans with the left knee torn out and black steel-toed boots with the laces untied. Below his shirt sleeves they saw that his arms were almost completely covered in tattoos.

Brick turned around to face the man and asked, "So, you're tellin' us our brother was bit by a girl with fangs, right?" He chuckled and shook his head. "C'mon, pal, we may be just kids to you, but we're not stupid."

"So, what is she, like a werewolf or somethin'?" Boomer snickered as Butch scowled at both his brothers.

The man considered the comment then answered, "No, actually, she's a vampire. So are her two little brothers."

"A vampire..." Brick repeated. He looked at Boomer and both broke into fresh fits of hysterical laughter.

"Hey, quit it!" Butch shouted, shoving Brick with his foot.

Brick turned to him, continued to snicker, and stated, "C'mon, Butch, Halloween's only a couple of weeks away, you probably saw a couple of kids trying out their new stuff."

"Afraid not," the man replied, "They're the real thing."

Brick and Boomer calmed their laughter as Butch looked to the man. "One of 'em bit me!" he told the man, "What's gonna happen to me?"

The man strode into the room to face them. He leaned on the table and rubbed his beard as if studying Butch and answered, "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Professor Utonium entred the room followed by Blossom and Buttercup. He saw the man standing by the Boys and said, "Oh, I see you guys have already met Reese."

"Not actually," Reese replied, "We're just havin' a few laughs. How's your daughter?"

"She's fine, just a pretty big bump on her head," Professor answered.

"He says the girl that bit Butch is a vampire, Professor," Boomer chuckled, "Now that's funny."

"I guess it would be if it weren't the truth," Professor stated.

"C'mon, you believe this, too, Professor?" Brick asked amazed.

"Well, what else do you call something with fangs, claws, and horns?" Buttercup snapped.

"I call it a couple of kids playing Halloween early," Brick shot back, "Sounds more reasonable, anyway."

"So, does that mean one of 'em is running around in his brand-new Brick Rowdyruff costume?" Blossom asked sarcastically.

"Huh?" Brick snorted.

"Bubbles said one of the boys looks exactly like you," Blossom explained, "And I believe her."

"Are you kidding?" Boomer asked as he looked to Butch.

Butch looked at Brick and said, "Yeah, he does. Well, minus the fangs, anyway, and the horns. And his hair is all these long curls, not straight, like yours. Other than that, he's a dead ringer for you."

Brick stood with his arms crossed in front of himself, looking at Butch and grumbled, "You and Bubbles drank the water in Professor's lab again, didn't you?"

"Why do you find this so unbelievable?" Buttercup demanded angrily as she turned to face Brick. "Your own brother is telling you this is for real, but you just wanna write it off as a joke!"

"'Cause it IS a joke, Buttercup!" Brick hollered at her, "Vampires don't exist!"

"Yeah, and little boys don't come out of toilets, either, yet here you are, we're stuck with you!" Buttercup shot back.

"Oh, not this again!" Brick shouted as he looked to the ceiling, "Is that your standard defense for everything, or is it just 'cause you can't come up with anything else?"

"Maybe it's because I'm more open-minded than you, toilet boy!" Buttercup yelled back.

Brick suddenly grabbed Buttercup by the front of her dress and pulled his fist back as if to punch her when Professor yanked them apart.

"Enough!" he shouted as he shoved Brick towards Boomer and Butch and Buttercup back to Blossom. Blossom held onto Buttercup as Boomer grabbed Brick by his shoulders and pulled him backwards.

"He started it," Buttercup growled.

Brick tried again to go after her, but Boomer spun him around to face him and angrily insisted, "Let it go, alright? This is stupid."

"Gee, this is fun," Reese snickered as he leaned on the table and watched the commotion.

Professor turned to glare at him and replied, "No comments from you." 

He turned to Brick and angrily asked, "Now, can you settle down and listen for a few minutes?"

Brick looked away and replied, "Yeah, sure, whatever..."

"With a little more positive attitude, possibly?" Professor asked sternly.

Brick sighed and replied, "OK, OK, I'm all ears."

Professor turned to Buttercup and asked, "How about you? You going to settle down as well?"

Buttercup nodded as she continued to glare at Brick. "I'm listenin'."

"OK," Professor began, "I know it sounds crazy, but the three kids Butch and Bubbles saw are really vampires. Trust me on this."

"So, what's gonna happen to me?" Butch again asked, "That girl bit me! Doesn't that mean I'm gonna end up like them?"

"No," Reese replied, "You're fine. It doesn't work that way. A vampire will only make you like it if it wants to. Just 'cause she bit you doesn't mean you'll be one."

"Isn't that what they're supposed to do?" Boomer asked, "Make everybody else a vampire, too?"

"No, and if you think about it, it makes sense," Professor replied, "Why would you make everybody else like you? Creates too much competition, especially when the food source is limited. Vampires tend to be territorial and they're driven chiefly by self-interest. They don't particularly care how bad or good somebody else has it in life, so long as they get what they want."

"These three can't change anybody, anyway," Reese explained.

"They can't?" Blossom asked, "Why not?"

"'Cause they're what we call Mornaucks. They're created by a true vampire, usually for a specific purpose. They're basically slaves to whoever created them. They don't know anything other than what their master tells them." Reese explained.

"They can't figure out to change somebody on their own?" Blossom asked.

"No, their master won't give them the ability to change anybody," Reese replied, "The fewer Mornaucks you have, the easier it is to control them."

"So, there's different kinds of vampires?" Boomer asked.

"Yes, Boomer, there are," Professor answered, "The ones Butch and Bubbles saw are the more common kind. Like Reese said, they're made for a reason, they get to do all the grunt work. They're more vunerable than their master simply because it's easier for their master to control them that way."

"So, how do we get rid of them?" Buttercup asked sternly, "Shove a wooden stake through their hearts or somethin'?"

"No, that'll only hold them still, it won't kill them," Reese stated, "Probably just piss them off, actually."

"Well, what about holy water or something?" Boomer asked.

"Yeah, where we gonna get that?" Brick replied.

Reese chuckled and shook his head. "Hold on, guys," he said as he continued to snicker, "Some advice here. First off, forget everything you've ever seen in a vampire movie, OK? Most of it is bullshit. Hollywood makes a vampire's life seem way too good, anyway."

"What do you mean, 'too good'?" Buttercup asked, "Living forever seems like a decent idea!"

"Actually, it sucks," Reese answered. 

"Why would that be bad?" Blossom asked sternly, "Immortality would give you the chance to figure things out, maybe help people stuck in a situation you've already gotten through. You could do anything you wanted!"

"Yeah, but look at on the other side," Reese explained, "Think of somebody you know, let's say...your sisters here, for example. You're a vampire, Blossom, you're immortal, your sisters aren't, in our little game here. You get to sit back and watch them grow up, age, and die. You, on the other hand, will never change, unless you're a certain kind of vampire, then at least you can control how old you look. Everything you now know as 'current' becomes history, technology continues on, possibly overwhelms you. You can't keep up with everything, unless you truly work at it. Eventually, everything you know is gone yet you're still here."

Blossom looked to Buttercup and replied glumly, "Yeah, OK, I see your point."

"So, how many types of vampires are there?" Boomer asked.

"Four main types that we know of," Professor answered, "The ones Butch and Bubbles saw are basically the bottom of the proverbial food chain. Mornaucks tend to be the weakest, as well. They're created by a master, a vampire with truly amazing powers, but limited, nonetheless. Above that, you have what's called 'daywalkers'. That kind of vampire can blend in, be undetectable, unless you know what you're looking for. There's quite a few of them, actually."

"They can also control how they look," Reese added, "If they choose to look young forever, they can do it, or if they want to age a bit, then take on a new identity, they can. That's how most of 'em get by, actually."

"So, you're tellin' us there's these 'daywalkers' around now, right?" Brick asked amazed.

Reese shrugged, "Well, yeah, you think it's coincidence that Madonna looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe?"

"Also, why do you think Dick Clark still looks like a teenager even though he's technically pushing 70 years old?" Professor added.

"Madonna's a vampire?" Blossom asked.

"No, Marilyn Monroe is," Reese answered, "Madonna's just her new identity."

"OK, how 'bout...Ozzy Osbourne," Boomer offered, "He one too?"  
"No," Reese answered, "Afraid not. The man most likely to BE a vampire is in fact, not one."

"What's the fourth type?" Buttercup asked.

"Purebreds," Reese answered, "They're born vampires, and extremely rare. Most of 'em don't make it simply due to modern technology. The ultra-sound bit picks up their natural features and diagnoses them with birth defects. Some parents choose not to have a kid they think will be handicapped or messed up some way. Even if they DO make it into the world, the average parent doesn't feed their newborn blood. A purebred is extremely fragile at birth, so most die within the first year or so. SIDS is the most common way to blame their deaths. In reality, the parents unknowingly starve them to death. Even if they DO survive, they're just like regular humans. They age, they get diseases, they die. Immortality just isn't in their make-up and most of 'em carry a monstrous chip on their shoulder because of it. They know they're mortal, and they don't think it's fair that they, as purebreds, don't have the 'gift' of immortality that those they look down their noses at do. They're ill-mannered, bad-tempered, and extremely dangerous if they get the chance to mature."

"How do you know so much about vampires, anyway?" Brick asked sternly.

"'Cause I'm one," Reese replied confidently. He began to laugh and they could now see that his teeth were pointed. His canine teeth were extended more than they should be and they looked like something out of a horror film.

They stared at him in amazement. Brick looked to his brothers and stated, "OK, I'm weirded out, now, how about you guys?"

"I'm actually more curious how Professor knows so much," Blossom stated, "Do you follow them or something?"

Professor chuckled and replied, "Yeah, in a way. I've known Reese here all my life. He had I have tracked quite a few of the more nasty vampires down and disposed of them. See, the ones who choose to live their lives being as decent as they can be aren't a problem. The ones who step out of line are the ones we're concerned with. Seems like we have a problem here now, so I called Reese this morning. Did you know that two people in Townsville have now fallen victim to the same type of disappearances as in Dayton? I know you know what I'm talking about, Blossom, you read the newspaper this morning."

Blossom's eyes widened. She stammered, "So, why haven't WE heard anything about it? Who's missing?"

"You haven't heard about it yet because they haven't FOUND anything yet," Professor answered, "Genndy McCracken has been missing since yesterday morning. Also the comic book geek, Lenny Backster. Genndy was last seen at the Circle J at 12:00 at night getting milk and Lenny disappeared from the prison recreational yard a week ago. He was out for a evening stroll."

"What do we do?" Buttercup asked, "I mean, if they're vampires, how do we beat them?"

"Like I said, forget everything you've ever seen in a vampire movie," Reese replied, "It's mostly nonsense and Hollywood myths."

"OK, how about a 'for instance'?" Brick grumbled.

Reese shrugged. "OK, the holy water bit is nonsense. Doesn't work."

"The wooden stake through the heart doesn't either, right?" Butch offered.

"No, that'll only hold them down while you figure out what else to do," Professor answered.

"Garlic!" Boomer cried.

Reese nodded. "I actually like garlic, especially on spaghetti. Makes a dish worth eating."

Boomer scowled. Butch asked, "How 'bout sunlight?"

Reese nodded and replied, "Yeah, sunlight would definitely take care of our little tyrants now. Mornaucks are strictly nocturnal. You'll never see them out in the daylight 'cause it would indeed kill them."

"How about silver?" Brick asked, "Seem to remember something about that, too."

"That's a werewolf, Brick," Boomer answered.

Brick scratched his head. "Oh yeah."

"Crosses?" Buttercup asked.

Reese reached into the neckline of his shirt and pulled out a silver chain with a large crucifix on it. He shook his head.

"So how DO we get rid of 'em?" Brick asked.

"Standard is the stake, the sword, and the fire," Reese answered, "The stake through their chest will hold 'em still while you try to take their heads off with the sword. Then you burn what's left." He looked at Professor and asked, "You still any good with that sword of yours?"  
Professor grinned and answered, "Yep, I think I can still manage."

"Don't tell us you're one, too," Blossom said to Professor.

Professor shook his head. "No, honey, I'm not."

Bubbles floated into the room and joined the group. She still looked glassy eyed, but alert as well. She sighed and sat next to Butch on the table. She leaned her aching head on his shoulder and looked them over.

"OK, so what do we do now?" she asked.

Professor picked Bubbles up and held her as she laid her head on his shoulder. He looked at Reese and stated, "I'm thinking getting rid of these three won't solve anything. Whoever controls them can just make more."

Reese nodded and replied, "Yeah, true. Don't think there's any new ones as of now, but you never know. We've been after them for how long now?"

"Long time," Professor replied.

"You haven't been able to get them?" Blossom asked.

Professor said, "No, Blossom, they're not easy to catch. Reese and I have made a go at it and can't seem to catch them. If we could, we'd hopefully be able to find their master as well. If their master made them, there's no telling what else he or she may have in mind." He looked the rest of the children over and added, "But I think Reese and I have a slight advantage now."

"You really wanna go there?" Reese asked incredulously. 

"Bubbles and Butch have seen them," Professor replied, "And lived to tell the tale, such as it is. How many times has THAT happened?"

"Never," Reese replied. He shook his head and continued, "Hey, they're your kids."

"So what do we do?" Brick asked with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

Reese grinned cynically and replied, "Now we catch them."


	2. More of Halloween Diddy

**__**

Chapter 6

"They're out here," Reese stated. He had led them around the city for four nights straight in search of the three that Butch and Bubbles had seen. So far, the others had only gotten bored of the hunt. The only thing keeping them going was another two disappearances reported within Townsville's city limits.

"How do you know?" Blossom asked.

Reese turned to her and gave her a toothy grin. "Trust me."

He led them passed the Mayor's office and down the street. He made several turns heading into the centre of town. He seemed to be wandering aimlessly, looking around them, pausing to check down alleys, then continuing, but Blossom somehow knew he was well aware of where they were going.

He suddenly stopped and tilted his head as if listening for something though the others heard nothing. He motioned them to stay behind him as he crept to the end of the block. He pulled Butch and Buttercup forward as he peered around the corner into a dark alley. 

Using their night vision, Butch and Buttercup saw three figures crouching in a huddle. They were intent on what was between them and they seemed to be eating.

Buttercup saw one of the boys hold up a severed finger with red nail polish. He pulled the nail and a gold ring off the finger and tossed them aside. Buttercup let out a small gasp as he put the finger in his mouth and pulled the flesh from the bone. He then used the stripped bone as a toothpick then tossed it away.

Reese grabbed her and Butch and headed back to the others. He crouched down between them and spoke in whispers.

"You OK?" he asked Buttercup who appeared shaken.

"It was them, wasn't it?" Bubbles asked Butch. He nodded.

Buttercup shivered as she turned to Bubbles and Butch. "You were right, guys, I thought you were both loopy, but you were right." She turned to Reese and asked, "What were they eating?"

Reese paused then answered, "Looks like another one of your fine citizens."

The others stared at him with wide eyes. Brick turned to Butch and whispered, "You really **were **serious!"

Butch nodded. Reese motioned them all closer. "OK, we can lure them out here."

"How?" Boomer asked.

Reese turned to Butch and Bubbles. "Live bait."

"Now wait a minute, what kind of plan is that?" Blossom asked sternly.

"Remember," Reese explained, "Bubbles and Butch have seen them and survived. They're the only ones to ever manage that. We let them see Bubbles and Butch. Just wander into the alley and get their attention. They'll go crazy, believe me. They'll do anything necessary to get rid of you two now. We get them separated and catch them off guard."

"This plan sucks," Brick stated.

"It's the only way," Reese answered, "You won't take them together, I can promise you that."

"Yeah, right, there's three of them, six of us," Brick snorted.

Reese shook his head and replied, "No, we gotta get them separated. You go after them together, they'll systematically hunt each of you down and tear you apart."

"Then we'll stay together!" Buttercup insisted.

"Can you guarantee you six will stay together?" Reese asked, "'Cause I KNOW the three of them will. They know they're more efficient as pack-hunters than on their own. You go after them all at once, they won't separate and they'll find ways to isolate you guys."

Blossom looked to Brick and said, "Let's just do this Reese's way. He knows them, we don't. We've never faced anything like this. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to go on a little faith here."

Brick reluctantly nodded. "OK, we're in. We try this your way, Reese."

"It's the only way, believe me," Reese stated.

Butch sighed and shook his head. "Well, if that's the only way..."  
"...then we do it." Bubbles finished.

Reese held up his hand and added, "Also, remember, do not, under any circumstances, let yourself get caught alone with them, OK?"

They all nodded. "OK," Blossom spoke up, "Two of us to one of them once we get them apart. Buttercup and Brick on one, Bubbles and Butch on another, Boomer, you're with me."

"We get the girl," Butch stated, "I'm gonna kick her butt."

"OK," Blossom replied, "That leaves the boys."

"Me and Buttercup get the red-head. I wanna see if this kid really DOES look like me. Still think you're imagining things," Brick grumbled as he gave Butch a sideways look. 

"That leaves me and Boomer with the other one," Blossom declared. She looked to Reese. "Where will you be?"

Reese grinned and answered, "You'll see me. I'm the round-up and detainment crew."

"Just you?" Brick asked.

"Yep," Reese answered, "They can't hurt me. If anything, I'll scare the living hell out of 'em once they figure out what I am."

**_Chapter 7_**

The boys took to their work of dragging the dead woman's innards out. The red head looked to the girl. "How come we always get the nasty work?" he asked.

"'Cause I'm the eldest," she replied.

"Then we should get first bid on the rest!" the red head complained angrily.

She swung out lightning fast and hit the red head in the face with a leg bone, knocking him sideways. "Do NOT argue with me!" she shouted.

The red head got up and wiped the blood from the cut on his left temple. He glared at the girl as the black haired boy laughed at him hysterically. "It's not funny!" the red head insisted.

The black haired boy tried his best to stifle his chuckling as he replied, "If anything, you're the bottom of this food chain, my boy. You're the baby." He broke into laughter again as the red head stood up.

"Baby this, bastard!" The red head tackled the black haired boy and the two of them began fighting. The girl reached out and grabbed each of them by the rings in their ears and pulled them apart. 

"Will you two knock it off?!" she shrieked.

"Awww, a bit of a family feud here, or what?" they heard from behind them.

The girl turned to see Butch and Bubbles hovering at the end of the alley. She released both of the combatants and grinned at the two intruders. "You two again?" She giggled, turned to the two boys and said, "Look, dessert's here!"

The boys broke into laughter as well. "Make mine the kiddie plate!" the black haired boy declared.

"No, no, wait, I got one!" the red head added, as he picked up a piece of their previous meal, "Make mine the 'Open-Face' platter, what 'cha think!" He giggled hysterically as he produced the dead woman's facial skin and flapped her lips like a puppet with his claws. Bubbles felt bile rise in her throat and swallowed hard to keep from throwing up.

"You gotta wonder about dogs," Bubbles insulted.

The three glared at her, still giggling, and began moving towards them. They were drenched in blood from head to toe from the woman they had devoured. "Let's see how you think when I'm tearing your throat out, little girl." the black haired boy threatened.

"You can dream about it," Butch declared.

"I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart, sweet meat," the girl said to Butch. The three of them suddenly sprang at Butch and Bubbles with teeth and claws bared. Butch and Bubbles waited until they were within reach, then shot off down the street. The three missed the target again, then morphed into their bat and glided after Butch and Bubbles. 

Butch looked over his shoulder as the beast closed in on them. "Oh, man, we're in trouble!" he yelled as Bubbles also turned to see the bat behind them. It shrieked at them, sending chills through both Butch and Bubbles.

"Let's lose 'em!" Bubbles suggested. She and Butch made a ninety-degree turn straight down, throwing off the bat behind them. The bat landed on a rooftop and separated again. The girl looked to where Butch was flying over the buildings. 

"You two go after her. I'm on sweet meat." She took off running after Butch as the boys followed Bubbles. "Make sure you get her!" they heard the girl scream at them.

The boys followed directly behind Bubbles. The red head took a chance and leaped to grab her, but she managed to accelerate enough to avoid his claws. They came to a screeching halt as Bubbles turned a corner. Blossom, Brick, Buttercup, and Boomer hovered in front of them. The black haired boy shook his head upon seeing them.

"Uh-uh", he mumbled, "Five on two??" He and the red head turned and took off, running back the way they had come.

"But, she said to get the girl!" the red head yelled.

"Don't care!" the black haired boy yelled back, "You go ahead and take 'em all if you want!" 

"Bubbles, you go back and help Butch!" Blossom yelled as she and the others took off after the boys, "Remember what Reese said!"

Bubbles left the others to chase the two boys and zoomed off to find Butch and the girl. She swerved around buildings, over rooftops, and through a retail store until she caught a glimpse of the girl scampering over parking meters and across the hoods of cars in pursuit of Butch.

Brick, Blossom, Buttercup, and Boomer continued on after the two boys. Blossom shot a laser blast at the two as they reached the end of a block. It hit the pavement between the two, causing them to jump, then they split up. The red head continued down the street while the black haired boy ducked into a restaurant. Blossom and Boomer pursued him as Brick and Buttercup soared passed after the red head.

Blossom and Boomer were directly behind the black haired boy and followed him into the kitchen of the restaurant. The boy dumped a tray of dishes in their path, trying to delay them. He then shoved an employee in their path, causing them to stop in a hurry, then go around her. He smashed the back door of the restaurant open and tore down the back alley. Blossom and Boomer streaked behind him, their pink and navy blue trails drawing behind them. 

The boy came to a solid wall and quickly scaled it in an attempt to avoid Blossom and Boomer. Boomer caught him and snatched him off the wall. He flung the boy towards Blossom who was winding up with a power punch, but, much to their surprise, the boy grabbed an overhead power line and swung out of her path. He released the line and headed for a rooftop to land on. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark figure swooped in and grabbed him by the hair. He howled with pain and struggled to get free as Blossom and Boomer saw the figure was Reese. He now had a set of leathery wings that had formed out of his shoulder blades. He pointed to a fisherman's net that was hanging on the wall outside of the restaurant.

Blossom and Boomer grabbed the net and opened it into a loose sack as Reese held onto the boy. "Nothin' but net," he declared. He then tossed the boy like a basketball directly into the net. Blossom and Boomer caught the boy and wound the net around him. The boy screamed his disapproval at being caught and tried to slash the net open with his claws. Reese ripped the hood off a nearby car and caught the boy with it as he fell from the net. Blossom and Boomer bent the hood around the boy as he landed in it trapping him inside the metal cage.

"One down!" Reese declared, "Take that one to my car, dump him in the trunk. I'm gonna keep going."

He soared off as Blossom and Boomer headed off with the hood. He heard the girl screech and headed in the direction of the sound.

Butch couldn't believe the girl had kept up with him despite his attempts to outrun her. He ducked under a bridge walkway as the girl jumped up and over the railing. She jumped off the bridge and landed on Butch's back. She tore at him causing him to go down and land with a thud on the ground. They tumbled down an embankment into a highway and the girl wrestled Butch beneath her. As they stopped, she shrieked and bared her teeth. She moved to deliver a vicious bite to Butch's neck, but was snatched off of him by Bubbles. Bubbles dragged the girl across the pavement through oncoming traffic and dumped her into a pile of garbage. The girl sat up, shook her head, then took off running. Bubbles helped Butch up then the two of them streaked off after the girl. She swerved between cars and debris in the street, then turned down another street. She dared a peek over her shoulder to see the blue and green streaks behind her. She suddenly came to a dead end and began to quickly climb the wall of an apartment building. Butch and Bubbles followed her up, but she quickly ducked into an open window as Butch and Bubbles over shot her. Butch turned and followed her through the building with Bubbles right behind them. The girl tore through the apartment, throwing furniture, dumping shelves, even tossing the family's dog at Butch to slow him. She entred the kitchen where a woman was chopping vegetables, grabbed the woman's knife, and flung it at Butch. He ducked and the knife sailed past him and stuck in the wall as Bubbles passed. The girl dove through the back window towards a window in the next building, but Butch and Bubbles zapped the wall below the window with their lasers. The girl cringed, causing her to miss the window and slide down the wall. She desperately scrabbled for the window she had intended to go through.

"Aww, you missed," Butch teased her.

She glared at him and snarled. She tried again to reach the window, but Bubbles blasted the wall just above the girl's fingers. The girl lost her grip and fell seven stories towards the street below. She shrieked the whole way down as Bubbles followed her.

Reese streaked in and landed in the street below the girl holding an open garbage can. Bubbles landed beside him and watched the girl fall. Reese weaved back and forth with the garbage can and caught the girl as she landed directly in it. He then slammed the lid over the can and set it on the street. Bubbles then hit the can with her lasers and melted the lid to the can.

"That's two!" Reese said as Butch came down to meet them. 

"One more to go!" Bubbles stated.

Reese nodded then the three of them took off carrying the garbage can with the girl inside scratching to escape.

**__**

Chapter 8

The red head whirled around as he heard the girl's screams. He had eluded Brick and Buttercup and had made his way across the rooftop of a building under construction. He climbed a wall to a balcony and stood for a moment then howled for his siblings. He heard no answer. His chest began to heave with panic, then he howled his rage. He saw a fire escape ladder next to the balcony and climbed it. He ended up on another rooftop overlooking the one he had just left. He paused again as the late night's breeze blew his blood-soaked curls into his face and gave one last effort to call to the others. His howls were again not answered. He growled his disapproval, then turned to head over the roof. He stopped suddenly. In front of him, like a mirror image of himself, was another boy, hovering above the rooftop. The two glared at each other.

"End of the line, buddy," the boy stated. The red head looked into the boy's red eyes, the right one swollen and blackened, and let out a growl from deep in his throat. He snarled at the boy and lunged out with his claws. Then everything went black.

Brick slugged the red headed boy with everything he had. The boy's head snapped back and he fell from the roof. Brick watched as the boy fell and landed on the rooftop below with a thud. He lay there, on his back, sprawled out, not moving. Brick floated down to the boy and landed next to him. He crouched down cautiously and watched as a stream of blood oozed from the boy's mouth. Brick shook his head. 

Buttercup arrived and landed on the other side of the unconscious red head. Her dress was torn across her stomach and Brick saw several bleeding cuts. He pointed to her wounds and asked, "You OK?"

Buttercup nodded and answered, "Yeah, ghoul-boy here managed to get a shot at me. Those claws of his are brutal!" She examined the boy lying unconscious on the rooftop. "He really DOES look like you!" she exclaimed, "Only difference is the curls."

"Yeah, whatever," Brick stated. He stood up and hollered, "Reese, we got one!"

From the darkness, they heard Reese answer, "Awesome! Bring him and meet us at the rink!"

**_Chapter 9_**

Reese had tied the red head down on his stomach on a long metal table that was at one time a check out counter for the abandoned skating rink. Though still unconscious, the boy tensed as Professor tapped on his arm, at the crook of his right elbow, and stuck a large needle into the rising vein. Professor pushed a small tube onto the end of the needle and watched as the boy's blood filled the tube.

"So, what do you think?" Professor asked Reese as he withdrew the needle and stuck a band-aid on the boy's arm.

Reese furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Don't know," he replied, "I've been after the other two for awhile. I don't know where this one came from. Definitely a new addition."

"Where are the other two?" Professor asked.

Reese thumbed backwards and answered, "They're locked up in the storage room. Solid cinder block walls, only the skylight in the roof."

"They can get through that," Professor stated.

Reese shook his head. "No, they need this one to fly, at least that's what I'm thinking."

"Why?" Professor asked.

"'Cause I've never seen the others fly, especially on their own. Now all the sudden, they can with this one's help."

"How do you think they're doing that?" Professor asked, "Any ideas?"

Reese shrugged. "I have no idea. Must be something new."

"The other two can still break through the roof, if they want, you know that," Professor declared.

"They could climb the walls, I guess, but by the time they figure out what's going on, it'll be too late for them to bust out anyway." Reese looked beyond Professor Utonium to another window. "Sun's already rising."

"You're sure this plan is going to work?" Professor asked.

"Yep, pretty sure. They won't have much choice once the sun comes up." Reese began untying the red head and looked to the Professor. "You ready to let the other ones out? Still got the touch, you think?"

Professor grinned. "Yep, still got it. Let's go."

The Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys stood looking at the crumpled hood and the melted trash can. They could hear both of the trapped ghouls fighting to escape. Reese, carrying the unconscious red head with him, and Professor Utonium entred the room and approached the metal cages. Professor stood at the trash can. Reese dropped the red head and approached the hood. Professor nodded to Buttercup who zapped the trash can with her lasers. 

"Professor, you sure you should stand there?!" Bubbles asked in a panic.

Professor stood ready as Buttercup circled the trash can with her lasers. "Yes, honey, don't worry." Without taking his eyes off the trash can, Professor indicated the door to the storage room. "Bubbles, Blossom, hold that door open." Bubbles and Blossom floated over to the door and held it open, not quite sure what to expect.

Reese stood ready as Brick, Butch, and Boomer pulled the hood apart. They ducked as one of the black haired boy's clawed hands shot out in an attempt to grab them.

Professor carefully bent the trash can lid back slightly and saw a pair of yellow eyes glaring at him. The girl made her move to escape as Buttercup shouted, "Professor, look...!" She watched, stunned as, with a lightning fast move of his hand, Professor reached into the trash can and grabbed the girl. He dragged her out of the can by a handful of her hair and the rings in her left ear. She screamed and tried desperately to kick at the Professor as she clawed his hand trying to make him drop her. The other children saw that one of her horns had been broken off and blood from what was left of it streamed down the back of her head. 

Reese snatched the black haired boy out of the hood, also by a handful of hair. He glared at Reese and swung with his claws trying to slash Reese. He howled as Reese tightened his grip on the boy's hair.

"Brick, you and your brothers bring that one," Reese pointed to the red head. The Boys picked the red head up and followed Professor and Reese to the door. The small room had no windows except for a single skylight in the roof. Reese and Professor stood at the door and flung the two struggling children into the room. They landed with a thud and skidded across the room to the back wall. Brick, Butch, and Boomer followed suit and threw the red head in as well. He landed in the middle of the room on his stomach. The other two quickly got up and tried to make it to the door before Bubbles and Blossom slammed it in their faces.

"OK, now what?" Brick asked as they heard the two scratching at the door and their angry howls.

Professor wrapped his wounded hand in a towel and answered, "Now we wait."

**__**

Chapter 10

He heard someone shouting his name, but the voice sounded distant. He groggily struggled to open his eyes. He reached up with his hands in an attempt to sit up. Suddenly, his left hand and forearm felt as if they were on fire. His eyes snapped open and he saw his arm was smoking.

"OW-WOW-WOW-WOW!!" he screamed and scrambled back from the source of the heat. He cradled his arm and saw that the flesh was bubbled and smoldering. He panted and looked up to see the sunlight streaming into the small room. He quickly backed away and looked around. The black haired boy and the girl were huddled against the back wall. 

The red head scooted over to where they sat and asked, "Where are we?!" He reached into his mouth with his other hand and pulled out three loose teeth. He tossed them aside in distaste and sucked the blood from the open sockets. "That kid busted my teeth out!"

"You've got bigger problems than that," a man's voice said from the shadowed side of the room. They saw the bright end of a lit cigarette and a ring of smoke as he exhaled.

"Who are you?!" the girl shouted, "What do you want?!"

They heard the man chuckle as he stood up. "What's your names?" he asked.

They remained silent as he approached the beam of sunlight that now divided the room into two dark sections. He raised his hands and shrugged. "Surely you can tell me your names, right?"

Reluctantly, the girl answered, "M-m-my name's Dareena."

"I'm...Derrick," the black-haired boy said. He pointed to the red head. "This is Darion."

The man crossed his arms in front of himself and grinned. "See, that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"So, who are you?" Dareena asked again.

The man took one last drag on his cigarette and dropped it on the floor. He crushed it out under his boot and replied, "I'm Reese. I can be one of two things to you guys. Either your saviour or your destructor, but it'll be up to you."

"What do you want from us?" Dareena asked as she and the boys backed away further from the expanding ray of sunlight.

"Just some info, specifically, a name," Reese answered.

"What's wrong with the one you have?" Derrick snorted. They burst into laughter at his comment, but Reese apparently found no humour in the remark.

"WHAT?!!" Dareena screamed, "What do you want?!"

"Who's your 'owner'?" Reese asked.

The three burst into hysterical giggles again at his question. "Yeah, right, as if we'd tell you THAT!" Derrick snorted.

Reese shrugged and replied, "Hey, that's OK. I can wait." He turned and headed for the door. "I'll come back later, after you've had a chance to think about it." 

Dareena suddenly sprang to her feet followed by Derrick. "Hey, wait a second!" she yelled as she and Derrick ran towards Reese. They stopped short at the dividing sunlight streak as Reese slammed the door behind himself, leaving the three of them to sit and wait for the ever-advancing sun to fill the room.

"Well?" Professor asked Reese as he locked the door again. 

"Nope, they're not up for it right now," he replied. He chuckled and added, "I'll give 'em awhile, then go back in."

"Do you think they'll tell you what you want to know?" Professor asked.

Reese shrugged. "Don't know. Remember how long we've been after them. I figure right around 3:00 this afternoon we'll find out."

"What's gonna happen to them?" Blossom asked.

Reese shrugged. "Well, that's up to them. They can either talk to me or not. If they do, I haven't decided what I'm gonna do with them. We'll have to wait and see."

"What if they don't talk?" Butch asked, "Then what?"

Reese stopped and lit another cigarette. He turned to them and answered, "We'll be sweeping up what's left of them with a Shop Vac."

They heard the door's lock turn and Reese walked back in. The door closed behind him and they watched him walk to the edge of the sunlight on his side of the room and sit down. He crossed his legs and set out a wind-up clock next to himself. It was two thirty in the afternoon. He lit another cigarette and looked at them. 

They now stood up as the flood of sunlight had filled their side of the room enough that they could no longer avoid it sitting down. They stood with their backs against the wall, sweat pouring down their faces, yet shivering with fright. 

"Ready now?" Reese snickered at them.

"Why do you want to know?!" Dareena shrieked. She panted with anger as she stood. 

Reese chuckled. He shrugged and replied, "So I can get rid of him, what do you think?"

Derrick shook his head angrily. "He'll kill us if we tell you."

Reese looked around the room. "Doesn't look like your chances are much better in here, now, does it?"

"Let's just get out of here!" Darion insisted.

"Look up, Darion, we can't. You think we can make it out of here now?" Derrick yelled, "Tell ya what, I'll chuck your dumb ass out there and we'll see how long you last!" He turned to Reese and continued, "You're the same as us, aren't you?"

Reese laughed out loud. He shook his head and replied, "Not by a long shot, kiddo. The similarities are there, but I'm NOT like you worms."

"Yeah, what 'similarities' would those be?" Dareena shot back.

Reese exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke and answered, "I'm pretty sure you can figure it out. But, NOBODY owns me." He stood up and they watched with mouths hanging open and eyes wide as Reese walked directly into the beam of sunlight. He stood grinning at them with his arms crossed in front of himself. "I'm just a bit different, now, ain't I?" he teased.

"You're...you're...a daywalker!" Dareena gasped.

"You could call it that, yeah," Reese stated.

Darion turned to his siblings and asked, "Is the master like that, too?"

"No," Reese answered, "At least not that I'm aware of."

"So, you already know who he is?" Derrick asked.

Reese slowly nodded. "Got a pretty good idea, yeah." He pointed to Dareena. "The white hair kinda gives it away, along with your eyes..." he continued as he pointed to Derrick, "But I can't figure you out," he finished, pointing to Darion. "You're definitely unexpected."

"So, if you already know who he is, why are you torturing us?" Dareena asked angrily.

Reese shrugged. "Just want to make sure before he gets here. It's nice to know who to expect."

They looked shocked. Derrick asked, "Why would he come here? We left him behind over a year ago!"

"That's a good point, why did you's leave him, anyway?" Reese asked. He sat back down in the sunlight and crossed his legs again. "Doesn't make any sense. He made you, correct?"

They nodded. "So, why did you leave? Never seen Mornaucks show any rational thought like that," Reese added.

Dareena looked to the floor. She paused, then answered, "'Cause he started taking his frustrations out on us."

"His 'frustrations'?" Reese asked.

Dareena nodded. "He's been working on some sort of 'project' for years. Last I remember, he hadn't gotten it right yet."

Reese rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "What kind of project?"

"I don't know," Dareena stated.

"What's he been doing?" Reese asked.

Dareena answered, "Experimenting with different stuff. Different chemicals, different animals, I told you I don't know what he's trying to do."

"Uh-huh," Reese replied, "So, why did you leave him? You know he's gonna want you three back, right?"

Derrick shook his head and said, "We're not going back to him. No way."

"He's gotta find us, first," Dareena stated.

Reese chuckled and said, "That shouldn't be too hard, guys."

They looked surprised as Reese pulled a newspaper clipping from his pocket. He unfolded it and held it up to them. There was a picture of a map, and the three of them recognized the route it depicted. "Seems you guys weren't as careful as you thought you were," Reese explained, "Plus, let's not forget the mess you's left last night."

"So, we were sloppy, so what? Why would he come after us?" Darion wondered.

"'Cause you messed up!" Reese explained, "Not only did you leave a trail, but now you're caught. He's not going to take a chance of having you three traced back to him. He'll find you and kill you, and I'm sure it won't be very pleasant for you, either. You think this is bad..." he indicated the room they were now trapped in, "I'm sure what he's got in mind for you is ten times worse. Face it, you're a failed project now."

"What can he do?" Dareena asked concern now creeping into her voice.

Reese chuckled. "For starters, he can stake the three of you out and let the sun finish the job. Or, maybe he'll just rip you three apart and use the leftovers in something else." He laughed and sarcastically added, "Now, doesn't that sound like a wonderful reunion in your near future?"

They stood panting as they realized Reese was telling them the truth. Pictures of what their master would do to them filled their heads and they visibly shivered again.

"So, you never answered my question," Reese began, "Why did you take off?"

"Like I said, he started taking his frustrations out on us," Dareena repeated.

"Basically, he started beating the living hell out of us every time things didn't go his way," Derrick added. He nodded towards Darion. "Especially him."

"What'd he do?" Reese asked Darion.

Darion answered, "Beat me bloody with a crowbar. Broke just about every bone in me. It was a contest to see if I'd die of infection or starve to death first."

"You know it's not that easy, right?" Reese asked.

Darion looked at his toes and replied, "Yeah, I figured that out."

"Why you more than the other two? Any particular reason?" Reese asked Darion.

Darion shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe 'cause I'm the youngest."

"We figured it was time to move on after what happened to Darion," Dareena explained, "We really thought he'd die."

The clock ticked on to 2:45. Reese looked at it, then turned back to the three as they tried to press themselves into the wall to avoid the sunlight. They stood on their tiptoes as the sunlight reached for their feet.

"So, you're not too fond of him, why don't you just tell me what I wanna know?" Reese asked. 

"What do we get out of this deal?" Dareena asked sternly.

"No deal's been offered that I know of," Reese shot back.

"Then maybe we can make one," Derrick suggested.

Reese considered for a moment then said, "OK, tell you what. You tell me his name, and I promise I'll end your miserable lives quick."

They gaped at him as if he were joking. "What kind of deal is that?!" Dareena yelled.

Reese looked at the clock again. "I figure in about fifteen more minutes, you guys will have no place else to hide. I'm pretty sure I've already got what I want, I just want confirmation from you three. You can burn in here, or I can take you's out fast. The choice is yours."

"Let's just tell him!" Darion hollered.

"No way!" Derrick shrieked, "Are you off your gourd?"

"I'd rather lose my head than burn!" Darion screamed back.

"Time's a-wasting, kids," Reese stated.

Dareena held up her hands and spoke slowly, trying to control the fear rising in all of them. "Will you make us like you?" she asked.

Reese broke into laughter and shook his head. He looked up at them, still chuckling, and replied, "Not on this earth, honey, sorry."

"Why not?" she demanded.

Reese continued to shake his head. "Don't need the competition and I certainly don't need any pups. I make you like me, I've got to kill you anyway. Simple as that."

"But, we'll behave that way, right?" Derrick asked, "That's how it's supposed to work! We get more control that way, over ourselves, at least, you get what you want, we stay out of your way!"

"And the first time you three tear some poor sucker apart, I'll have to hunt you down and take your heads anyway, why delay the inevitable?" Reese pointed out.

"What if we never do that again?" Darion asked. "YOU don't hunt like that, right?"

"Only when I have to," Reese answered.

"So, we'll be like you instead!" Darion insisted. He peered at the clock behind Reese. Ten minutes to three o'clock and they were running out of toe room quickly. "C'mon, mister, cut us a break!"

"A name," Reese demanded.

"Make us like you!" Dareena screamed.

"Not a chance," Reese said angrily, "A name is all I want."

They tried climbing the wall, then looked up only to discover that the sun was slowly making its way down towards them. It would soon fill the wall with light as a tree outside was the only thing blocking its rays from reaching them now. They hung on the wall, desperately panting with panic. Their fingernails screeched as they slid down the cinder block's painted surface, trying to stop their advance into the sunlight coming up from beneath them as well as down to them.

"Shadau, his name's Shadau!" Darion yelled. Derrick growled loudly and pulled his hand back into a fist. He slammed Darion in the mouth causing Darion to fall to the floor into the sun. Darion screamed in pain as his flesh began to smoke. He covered his head and continued to howl as the sunlight burned away at him. Reese stood up and grabbed the clock. He flung it at a switch on the wall. It hit the switch and a large metal door scraped across the skylight. Once fully closed, the room was cast in shade again. Darion lay on the floor whimpering as Dareena and Derrick dropped to the floor.

Derrick approached Darion and tried to help him up. "Darion, I'm sorry..."

Darion kicked him back and growled, "Get away, will ya?" He slowly dragged his knees up under himself and pushed himself up on all fours. His hands, arms, legs and feet were badly burned. He rubbed the back of his head which was red from the sunlight as well.

Reese walked over and stood over him. "That wasn't so hard, now, was it?" He reached down and pulled Darion to his feet by his earrings. Darion howled as Reese dragged him out of the room.

"Wait a minute, where are you taking him?!" Dareena screamed, but the only answer she got was the door slamming shut.

The door opened and Reese emerged, dragging the red head with him. He turned and slammed the door shut and relocked it. He shoved the red head into the room where the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys sat with Professor Utonium. The red head landed on the floor and skidded to a stop in front of the Boys. 

Reese bowed and indicated the red head. "Guys, meet Darion."

Darion looked up at them, his chest heaving with fear. Blossom moved toward him and he scrambled back from her, hissing.

"Whoa, I was just gonna help you up!" Blossom stated.

Reese again grabbed Darion by the earrings and pulled him up on his toes. He leaned towards Darion, glaring directly into his face. "And there will be no more of that, you got it?" he declared. 

Darion whimpered as he hung from Reese's grip. He nodded and Reese let him go. He let out a huff as he stepped back from Reese. Boomer asked, "Where'd the burns come from?"

Darion just glared at him as Reese answered, "Well, they kinda waited a tad too long."

"So, where are the other two?" Buttercup asked.

Reese indicated the door behind him. "They're still in there. I'm not gonna leave the three of 'em together for the night." He shoved Darion towards the next room and said, "C'mon, let's take care of those burns, what do you say?"

"You're not going to kill them, are you?" Darion asked in a raspy voice.

"Hey, it speaks!" Bommer exclaimed.

Reese shook his head. "No, they'll be fine in there." He grabbed Darion's left arm and took him into the next room followed by Professor Utonium. Reese picked him up and dumped him on the long table in the centre of the room.

Darion looked around the room, shivering, as Professor prepared to bandage his burns. Professor held a handful of cotton over a brown bottle and tipped the bottle upside down. He put the bottle down and gently dabbed some of the liquid onto Darion's right arm. Darion snarled and snapped at Professor's hand. Brick and Buttercup, peering around the corner, suddenly shot into the room and snatched Darion off the table. They slammed him into the wall and pinned him there. He struggled to get away from them as Brick choked him.

"I'm gonna kick your butt!" Buttercup cried.

"Think you better change the attitude, friend," Brick stated.

"OK, OK," Darion gagged, "I'm sorry!"

Brick released Darion's throat. He and Buttercup brought Darion back to the table and plopped him back onto it. Darion glared at the two of them as they floated above his head watching him. Professor cleaned and bandaged Darion's burns as Brick and Buttercup looked on. Once he was through, Reese dragged Darion off the table and down the hallway. Darion suddenly dug his heels in and tried to stop in a panic. Reese looked ahead and saw a flood of sunlight in the hallway and grinned. "Oh, yeah, sorry..." He picked Darion up and held him in his own shadow as he walked through the sun's rays. Darion cowered down to Reese as they went through. Reese stopped in front of another door, opened it, and pushed Darion inside. The room was a small broom closet with no windows. "Sweet dreams," Reese teased before he closed and locked the door.

"You think that'll hold them?" Blossom asked.

Reese nodded. "Yeah, not only 'cause they can't beat the walls down, they're just not THAT strong, but even if they could, I think they realize that they're in deep shit now."

"So, who's their owner?" Professor asked.

"Shadau," Reese replied.

Professor looked surprised. "Thought he was in Egypt somewhere?"

Reese shrugged. "Well if he is, he won't be for long."

"You know who he's talkin' about?" Boomer asked Professor.

Professor nodded. "Yep, just because I've been dabbling in my own stuff doesn't mean I haven't kept up with other things." He turned to Reese and asked, "What's our next move, then?"

"We wait for him," Reese replied, "He'll show pretty soon, I'm sure."

"Why?" Buttercup asked, "Why are you convinced this guy will come looking for these three?"

"'Cause they're his property, as far as he's concerned. They've made a mess, a mess that could expose him for what he is, and he's not going to chance anybody finding a link back to him. Especially once he figures out that I'm the one who's got his little bugs."

"Well, what about us?" Bubbles wondered.

Reese shook his head. "No, you guys are officially out of this. I want Professor to take you guys and himself out of here and back home tonight. I'm not gonna have Shadau after you as well."

"Fat chance on that, mister," Blossom stated confidently, "You dragged us into this, we stay and finish it."

Reese looked to the others hovering around Blossom and the intent looks on their faces. He was about to complain, then he chuckled. He shook his head and said, "Well, doesn't look like I'm gonna talk you out of it, huh?"

"Nope," Professor replied, "I've stuck by you all this time, I'm not walking away this time. You're not taking Shadau yourself, my friend. I'm not too happy that you got my children involved in this, but, if anything, they'll be able out more than you can imagine."

"So I've heard, read, and now seen," Reese replied, "Those laser eye beams are something else."

They grinned at him. "...And that's just the start," Brick declared.

"What happens to the other three, now?" Bubbles asked, "Are they going to help us, too?"

Reese slowly shook his head. "No, I'm afraid they'll be leaving us soon." He turned and walked back towards the front of the building lighting another cigarette as he went. They stared after him as realization sunk in: Reese planned to kill the three.

"I'm thinkin' that's a bad plan right now," Brick stated.

Professor nodded. "Me, too, for some reason."

"They're still just kids," Blossom added, "Regardless of what's happened so far, if we can get them to help, there's no reason to kill a bunch of kids."

"They only seem like kids, Blossom, trust me, they're not," Professor explained. He headed after Reese and said, "But, still I'm going to try to change his mind."

Reese stood outside leaning against the front wall of the building. The sunlight felt warm on his face as he closed his eyes and tried to figure out how he and the others were going to stop Shadau. He jumped a bit as Professor came out the door.

Professor coughed and waved his hand in front of his face to disperse Reese's cloud of cigarette smoke. He narrowed his eyes at Reese and asked, "When you gonna quit those things?"

Reese chuckled and replied, "Not like they're gonna kill me, huh?"

Professor shrugged. "True, but they're still annoying." He stood with his hands in his lab coat pockets and looked at Reese.

"Why kill them?" he finally asked.

Reese shrugged. "There's really no reason to keep them around anymore."

"You know how it works, Reese. Not only can he hear and sense them, they can do the same," Professor continued, "They might come in handy once Shadau gets close enough."

Reese tossed his cigarette away and turned to Professor angrily. "OK, so what's your idea? Hell, they wanna be like me! Yeah, that's a plan, huh?"

"What's wrong with that?" Professor shot back sternly.

"It's just wrong, you know that!" Reese yelled, "I make them like me, then I gotta be responsible for them. Why do you think I've stayed alone all these years, huh? I don't want that kind of responsibility. I admit it, I'm a selfish, cold-hearted bastard!"

Professor faked shock and took a step back. "Oh, no, not responsibility! That's a curse, huh?"

"You know what I mean," Reese replied angrily.

"Yes, I know exactly what you mean, I've got six of them inside this building to think about," Professor explained. "I'm not saying you should take them in like I did the Boys, but giving them a chance to prove themselves might not be such a bad idea."

"No," Reese argued, "I'm not going there."

Professor crossed his arms in front of himself and considered Reese. He sighed and said, "Ever think, after over 1,000 years, that it's time you grew up?"

Reese chuckled and replied, "I watched you grow up, that was enough to convince me that it ain't worth the aggravation."

Professor put his hand on Reese's shoulder. "Just think about it before you end up regretting it, OK? Promise?"

Reese rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I'll think about it..."

Professor went back inside, leaving Reese alone with his thoughts. He pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply. He exhaled slowly and leaned his head against the wall. He closed his eyes as he thought about what Professor had said. "Grow up," he grumbled, "Yeah, right..." 

He looked down the street and saw a boy on a bicycle followed by a man cheering him on. The boy weaved on the bike as his father ran behind him with his hands out as if he thought he would be able to catch the boy if the bike fell over. Reese grinned as the boy headed down the street and the man watched him go, clapping his hands as the boy pedaled the bike confidently.

Reese threw his cigarette away angrily, then chuckled. He shook his head and leaned over, hands on his knees laughing. "Caught in a moment of weakness again," he declared. He looked to the door Professor had entred and grumbled, "Damn you." He went back inside as the evening shadows began to grow longer.

Derrick woke with a start, disturbing Dareena who had fallen asleep on his back. She grumbled and moved off him, then settled back down on the floor. He looked at her and noticed that someone had put something over her broken horn. He also noticed two deep fresh puncture wounds on her neck. He leaned closer to examine them, then felt a pain in his own neck. He reached to his neck and found he had similar wounds, two on one side, four on the other. He looked up and his heart jumped as he noticed that the door had been left open. He slowly stood up, staggered a bit, then regained his balance and cautiously headed for the door. 

He crept out of the room, noticed how quiet it was inside as if they had possibly been left alone there, and looked around. He also realized how badly he smelled and sighed. He reached to the tie holding his hair back and slowly ripped it out of his hair. "Ouch," he grumbled. 

His breathing quickened as he heard voices outside and he slowly headed in the direction of the noise, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to break up the dried blood matting it down. 

He opened the rear door of the building, fully expecting to find a bond fire for himself and his siblings, found none, and went to step outside to possibly escape. Then he noticed that the sun was shining brightly and he panicked. He turned to run back inside, then heard Reese shout, "Hey, c'mon, might as well give it a try, huh?" Derrick turned to see Reese standing with a cigarette in one hand, motioning him out with the other. "C'mon, it'll only be weird for a second."

Derrick looked around and saw the rest of the children looking at him, waiting to see what he would do. Derrick reached up to the wounds on his throat and suddenly realized what they may mean. He felt excitement rise in him, yet he was still cautious. He swallowed hard and slowly made his way onto the rear step. He remained in the shadows with his toes on the line between the light and the darkness. He realized he was shaking, nervous about what to expect.

"Well, c'mon, let's see if you can catch as well as you can run!" Buttercup said as she tossed a baseball up and down.

Derrick took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped into the sunlight, fully expecting it to burn him to ashes. He opened his eyes, standing fully in the sunshine, as a huge grin spread across his face. "Holy shit!" he screamed. 

He turned and practically fell over himself to run back inside. He headed into the room where Dareena still slept and grabbed her by the shoulders. "C'mon, you'll love this!" he exclaimed as he dragged her to her feet. He led her to the back door and said, "Watch this!"

He ran back into the sunlight as she stood in the doorway with wide eyes. 

"Oh, my GOD!" she exclaimed. She turned to Reese and saw him motioning her out as well. She raised her arms and stepped out into the sun. She looked around at the others and suddenly jumped up and down. She spun around and giggled hysterically.

"Is this great or what?!" Derrick asked her.

Dareena ran to Reese and jumped up to give him a hug. Tears rolled down her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him repeatedly. "Thank you!" she sobbed.

"No problem," Reese answered.

She pulled back and looked into his face as he grew serious. "Just remember something. This is for good until you fuck up. You fuck up, I take you out, got it?"

She nodded. "Understood!" She again hugged him as her tears continued. She regained her composure as Reese put her down. She looked around and asked, "Where's Darion?"

Professor slapped his hand to his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot to open the door!" 

He made his way back to the building with Blossom, Bubbles, and Boomer in tow. They giggled as Professor approached the door and turned the lock. He opened the door and a flood of sunlight streamed into the room. There, on a lower shelf, wrapped in a pile of towels, was Darion, still sleeping. 

"C'mon, time to get up," Professor declared.

Darion stirred and turned over. He stretched out, yawned and rubbed his head. He pulled his hand away and looked in distaste at the blood stains on his hands. Then he noticed the sunlight coming into the room and he shrunk back, a panicked look on his face. "What now?!" he asked, "What did I do?"

"That's the point, you haven't done anything yet!" Bubbles answered, giggling. "C'mon, get up! How can you sleep so much?"

Professor came in and extended his hand to Darion. "Trust me."

Darion realized his neck was sore and rubbed it. He found two deep puncture wounds on one side and four more on the other. He stared at Professor who nodded. "You can come out now."

Darion looked passed him to Blossom, Bubbles and Boomer. "So, you're not here to kick my ass, I guess?"

They shook their heads and Boomer replied, "Hey, can you play hockey?"

Darion took Professor's hand and stood up. He chuckled and replied, "Yeah, I'm fair to midline at it." He cautiously walked out into the hallway as his breathing quickened. He stood in the sunshine and it felt warm on his face. He grinned and began giggling. He took off down the hallway and out the back door at full speed. He leaped off the back step and landed in the grass. He saw Derrick and Dareena and pointed at them, laughing. They, too, broke into giggles. "This is great!" he exclaimed.

"Been a long time," Derrick stated.

"Indeed it has," Dareena replied. She picked flakes of dried blood from her hair and declared, "I think the next thing we need is a good cleaning." She sniffed at Derrick and grimaced. "You guys stink!"

**__**

Chapter 12

Back at the Utonium residence, Dareena stood in the bathroom brushing her long white hair. Her clothes had been put into a large metal machine that removed the blood from them, and she was enjoying their new fresh scent. She had been cautious of the large tub of water, but found it much to her liking. Now she faced what she knew would be a formidable task: Getting Darion in the tub. 

He stood next to her, naked, and peeled the bandages off his burns. They had already healed considerably, and, as he picked at a scab on his left arm, Dareena furrowed her brow and said, "Will you quit that?" 

He stopped and instead took to staring in the mirror, examining the empty spaces left by the teeth Brick had knocked out of his mouth. "This is awful," he moaned.

Dareena sighed and replied, "Relax, they'll grow back, silly." She turned on the tub water as Blossom had shown her and put the rubber plug in. She put her hand under the water to make sure it wasn't too hot, then watched as it filled the tub.

"Turn it on and water comes out. How neat is this?" she exclaimed.

Darion continued to look in the mirror and replied, "It is kinda cool." He turned and saw the tub of water and asked, "What's that for? You're already clean."

Dareena took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out slowly. Without turning to him, she replied, "It's for you."

Darion gaped at her. "HUH?"

"C'mon, it's not gonna hurt you. Look..." Dareena reached into the water and lifted out a handful. She then poured it back into the tub and said, "See?"

Darion cautiously approached the tub and looked in. He furrowed his brow and blinked his orange eyes. He looked at Dareena and shook his head. "No way. I don't need that."

"Darion, I'm not going to fight with you. You stink, now it's time to clean up." Dareena explained.

"But I can do that myself," he complained.

Dareena pointed to the tub. "Get in here," she instructed.

"Just get in the tub, will ya?" Derrick barked from the doorway. He stood fighting to pull a knot from his hair. "Don't be such a baby."

Darion fumed, "I'm not a baby, damn it!"

Derrick stormed into the room and slugged Darion in stomach. "Derrick!" Dareena protested as Darion doubled over. Derrick seemed not to hear her as he picked Darion up and dumped him into the tub. Darion went under the water, then surfaced and coughed up a mouthful of it. 

"Then stop acting like a baby!" Derrick shouted.

Darion snarled and lunged at Derrick. He was stopped midway out of the tub as Dareena grabbed him by the hair. He let out a yelp as she pulled him back into the water. She tightened her grip as Darion struggled to get her to let go.

"Knock it off, both of you!" she hollered, "Do you really wanna lose your heads so quickly? Or did you think Reese was joking when he said this is only permanent so long as we don't fuck up?"

"OK, OK!" Darion yelled, "Let go!"

She released him, then grabbed Derrick by the front of his shirt. She pulled him to the door and shoved him out. "You go!"

Derrick bowed and replied sarcastically, "Just tryin' to help."

"That kind of help I don't need," Dareena stated sternly.

Derrick shrugged and replied, "Hey, the little creep is in the tub, now ain't he?" He walked away and returned to pulling on the knot in his hair.

"You keep it up, and you'll end up just like the master," she called after him.

Derrick spun back to face her and glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it," she replied, "The reason we left him was because of what he did to Darion, right? Now, you feel it's necessary to continue where Shadau left off?"

Derrick sighed and answered, "Oh, c'mon, I'm only tough on Darion when he's annoying. Admit it, Dareena, he's still a baby."

"It doesn't matter that he's a baby," she replied, "When you beat him, it's no different to him. It still hurts, just like it hurt you. Don't forget that."

"So what do you want from me?" Derrick asked tiredly.

"Just think first before you hit him, OK?" she answered, "I'd rather you not hit him at all, but I'm not building my hopes up for that."

"OK, OK, I'll try," Derrick groaned, "You could try easing up on both of us, ya know."

Dareena nodded and replied, "OK, agreed. I'll admit it, I'm tough on you as well, and I'm sorry. I'll be a little easier on both of you so long as you lighten up on Darion."

Derrick nodded his agreement and walked away. Dareena closed the door and went back to the tub to scrub the blood and crud off of Darion.

Derrick headed down the stairs into the kitchen where Blossom and Brick were putting away dishes. Blossom turned to Derrick and saw his hair troubles. She grinned and said, "Hey, let me help ya!"

Brick chuckled and stated, "Don't do it, Derrick, trust me!"

Derrick snickered and continued working on the knot in his hair. He finally got it out, then pulled his hair back into a ponytail. "All done!" he announced. He looked around the kitchen and asked, "Where's this machine that gets blood off your clothes, anyway?"

"You mean the washer and dryer?" Blossom asked.

Derrick nodded and replied, "Yeah, Dareena said Darion's stuff is in it. She's cleaning the little bastard..." He paused, sighed and shook his head. "I mean, she's cleaning him up now."

"You two don't get along very well, huh?" Blossom stated sternly.

Derrick shrugged and answered, "Yeah, we do, I'm just tryin' to improve my attitude, how's that?"

"Still pretty lousy, if ya ask me," Brick replied.

"You try raising a kid when you're a kid yourself," Derrick shot back, "I've been cleanin' up after Darion since he was born."

"Been there, done that," Brick sneered, "Funny, me and my brothers are still pretty decent to each other. That's what brothers are for."

Derrick sighed and paused. He shook his head and replied, "Alright, alright. I got the same thing from Dareena. I'm tryin', OK?"

"We'll just keep an eye on you for now," Blossom said, "You get out of line, you'll know it, how's that?"

Derrick nodded and replied, "Yeah, actually, that might just help me out. Guess I should say thanks."

He followed Blossom to the laundry room and watched as she opened the dryer and pulled clothes and towels out and put them into a basket. She rummaged through until she found Darion's shorts and shirt and brought them out. 

"Uh,..." she stammered, "I think Darion's gonna need a new shirt." She turned and held up Darion's shirt to show Derrick a large hole in its fabric. "Guess the washer tore it."

Derrick shrugged and replied, "Oh well, guess it's better than having his butt hangin' out of his pants, huh?"

Blossom giggled as she handed the clothes to Derrick. He headed back upstairs, opened the bathroom door, and laid Darion's shorts on the counter. Dareena stood helping Darion get the excess water out of his long curls and turned to Derrick. 

"Where's his shirt?" she asked.

"Torn," Derrick answered, "At least he's still got his pants."

"Aw, man, why me?" Darion groaned.

"Don't worry about it," Dareena said.

Later, Brick wandered into the kitchen to find Darion crouched in front of the open refrigerator. He stared intensely into it and looked ready to pounce. Though he tried not to, Brick snickered. He turned and flew out into the living room. Buttercup sat on the couch watching TV as he flew over to her and grabbed her hand.

"C'mere!" he whispered, "Look at this!"

They returned to the kitchen and Brick pointed to Darion. Buttercup quietly giggled behind her hands, then she stopped. Through Darion's curls, she noticed his back was covered in horrible scars. 

"What are you doin'?" she shouted, startling Darion.

Without turning to her, Darion shushed her and quietly replied, "Dareena says there's somethin' to eat in here. I'm waiting for it to come out!"

Brick and Buttercup looked at each other. Brick shook his head as Buttercup sighed. Brick floated over Darion and landed next to him. 

"It doesn't work that way, man," Brick informed Darion. Darion looked up as if disappointed. 

"Well, I'm hungry!" he protested.

Brick reached into one of the refrigerator's drawers. He turned and placed an apple in Darion's hand. Darion furrowed his brow and examined it as Brick closed the refrigerator door.

"What is it?" Darion whispered.

Brick raised his eyebrows at him and answered, "It's an apple, Darion, you eat it."

Darion stood up and poked the apple's red exterior. "Is it dead?"

"It's a fruit, Darion," Buttercup explained, "It grows on a tree."

"You've never seen an apple before?" Brick asked amazed.

Darion shook his head. 

Brick indicated the apple and suggested, "Just try it."

Darion shrugged and opened his mouth wide. He just about chomped the apple in half with his fangs and munched on a huge mouthful of it. 

"Hey," he mumbled around the apple in his mouth, "This is pretty good!"

"Told ya," Brick stated as he got himself one as well.

Buttercup stood shaking her head. She looked at Darion's curls and, curious, she asked, "How do you brush that hair, anyway?"

Darion snorted and replied, "Yeah, right, brush my hair...never brushed my hair in my life. That'd be a scary sight. I'd end up with an afro as wide as the Thames, can you imagine that?"

"Like an explosion in a mattress factory, probably," Brick snickered.

Buttercup noticed a particularly nasty scar on Darion that started just below his right shoulder blade, traced up over his shoulder, and ended at his right collarbone. It was roughly an inch wide and raised up slightly from his skin. 

She pointed to it and asked, "What are all these scars on you from, Darion?"

Darion looked at his shoulder and shrugged. "The master used to beat me a lot. Guess he didn't like me very much."

"Why do you say that?" Buttercup asked.

"'Cause he never told me what I did wrong," Darion explained as he took another bite of his apple, "I always asked him, but he'd never tell me why he was beating me. He just did it."

Buttercup looked shocked and indicated his scarred back. "And that's what all this is from, too?"

Darion nodded. "Oh, actually, there was one time I at least knew what I did wrong. That was the last time, just before me, Dareena, and Derrick took off."

"What did you do to deserve that?" Buttercup asked.

"He told me to bring him a dog," Darion explained, "I just thought he was gonna let us keep a pet or something, so I got a little puppy and brought it home to him. He seemed really happy, at first, then he told me to kill it."

"He told you to kill it?" Brick repeated, "Why?"

Darion shrugged. "I don't know why, but I didn't want to do it. So, he got really mad and beat me with a crowbar. Thought he'd never stop that time. Let me tell ya, that hurts!"

"What happened to the puppy?" Buttercup asked.

"He killed it anyway," Darion replied glumly.

Professor Utonium entred the kitchen and stopped short when he saw Darion's mouth full.

"Darion, what are you eating?!" he asked in a panic.

Darion turned to him and held up the apple. "It's a...a..." He turned to Brick for help as Brick repeated, "It's an apple."

Professor looked surprised and asked, "And you like it?"

Darion nodded and answered, "Yeah, it's kinda sweet. And look..." He turned the apple towards Professor to show the part he'd bitten off. "There's not even any blood in it!"

Professor blinked and replied, "That's amazing!"

"Amazing that there's no blood in an apple?" Buttercup teased.

"No," Professor answered shaking his head, "It's amazing he likes it! That's just not normal for...well, you know what I mean." He suddenly stopped and his eyes widened. He snapped his fingers and shouted, "Wait, that's it!" He turned and hurried out of the kitchen.

They watched him go, wondering what he was up to. Darion looked to Brick and nervously asked, "Am I in trouble?"

Brick shrugged and answered, "I don't think so, but who knows. Hell, maybe I'M the one who's in trouble."


	3. Ongoing

**__**

Chapter 13

Blossom floated down the hallway towards the living room. She stopped at the doorway to the computer room. Usually, the Boys were in the room either playing video games on the television or sitting at the computer as Brick attempted to hack into yet another web site. 

Blossom instead found Reese sitting in front of the computer, reading through an ancient looking notebook with his feet propped up on the desk. He had moved the smaller television to sit above the computer monitor near his head. It was on with its volume blaring as he paged through the book. She hovered for a moment, then floated into the room and landed next to him.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the notebook.

"A notebook," Reese answered sarcastically.

"OK," Blossom stated with a giggle, "Containing what?" She looked at his feet and continued to giggle. 

"Interesting choice of footwear!" she exclaimed.

Reese wore a pair of large slippers. They were green with black fur around their edges and Blossom noticed that the faces on them looked like Frankenstein. Frankenstein's mouths were the foot holes.

Reese looked up from his book and looked at his feet. He grinned and stated, "Yeah, they're usually my 'hung over, drag my sorry butt outta bed around noon on a Saturday and shuffle out to get the mail' shoes, but what the hell...they're comfy enough."

Blossom pointed to the television and shouted, "How can you concentrate on what you're reading with that on?"

Reese looked up and grinned. He reached for the volume knob and turned it down. The room now seemed quiet without its noise. 

"Sorry," Reese said, "It's just background noise to me. I've always got a TV on around me."

"Why?" Blossom asked.

Reese shrugged as he returned to the book. "'Cause it's the greatest invention in the world, in my humble opinion. What else can you name that can both entertain and inform you at any given time?"

"I won't argue that," Blossom giggled. She floated over his shoulder and peered at the book he held. Its corners were yellowed with age and its binding had been repaired several times. The writing in it was confusing and seemed random.

"What is all this?" Blossom asked.

Reese continued to turn pages and replied, "Just some notes. I've got a bunch of these things. Shadau's quite the scribbler, ain't he?"

"This is Shadau's?" Blossom asked surprised.

Reese nodded. "Yeah, I found these in Dayton. See, every place I've chased that miserable bastard to, he's always had a little hide-out, if you will. He's big into recording what he's up to, so I just lift a few and go through them. These are kinda like his journals."

"Seems kinda stupid," Blossom remarked, "Why does he write everything down? Isn't he afraid somebody will find them besides you?"

"He's quite the ego-maniac, Blossom, he's of the opinion that nobody can stop him. Besides, think about it...why do you write things down?" Reese asked.

Blossom thought a moment and answered, "So I don't forget things."

"Same with Shadau. It makes it easier to remember something you did a long time ago if you write it down, right?" Reese explained, "I don't care how good your memory is, after awhile, you tend to forget things."

Reese turned another page and continued, "He's got hundreds of these things. I'm kinda happy I actually found some more recent ones." 

"How recent?" Blossom asked as she leaned over to read one section. Her eyes widened as she found Dareena's name in the paragraph. "Wow, this is recent alright! But, what's this?" she asked as she pointed to the page.

"...'The girl, Dareena, has shown tremendous improvement in physical strength, though I am reluctant to draw any real conclusions from these findings...'" Blossom read, "...'I must re-administer my tests, one at a time, to be sure of each's results...'" She turned to Reese and asked, "What's he talking about?"

Reese reached to the computer's mouse and shook it. The computer's monitor re-activated and Blossom saw numerous graphs, mathematical equations, and chemical breakdown charts on it. "He thinks he's found something useful. Professor and me are putting all this crap into this computer to see if we can get a jump on what that 'something' is. The tests he's talking about are blood transfers either through injections or basically force-feeding it to Dareena and Derrick. See, they were made "the old-fashioned way", for lack of a better way to describe it. They were, at one time, just regular kids, just like you. Then Shadau changed them, and you see what we got."

"What about Darion?" Blossom asked.

Reese shook his head. "No, Darion's completely different. He's the one we can't figure out." Reese flipped back towards the beginning of the book and pointed to a hand-drawn picture. "This is a leech. Apparently, Shadau's been experimenting with them to see if he can make anything out of them. He's been pretty successful so he took to breeding and raising them as well."

"For what?" Blossom wondered.

"To make Mornaucks," Reese replied, "Face it, modern times make it pretty tough to just snatch a kid off the street without somebody noticing it. Shadau's basically found a way to continue to make Mornaucks without anybody coming after him or even noticing. Darion was the first success."

Blossom raised her eyebrows. "Darion's a leech?"

"No, not exactly, but he did come out of one, according to this. He's a mixture of chemicals and compounds that Shadau's been working with for awhile and finally put to use. Basically, it's like tossing all kinds of different ingredients into a big stew pot and seeing what you get," Reese explained, "The 'pot' happens to be a leech."

"Actually, sounds more like me and my sisters," Blossom replied, "That's how Professor made us. Sugar, spice, and everything nice with an accidental dose of Chemical X."

Reese picked up the keyboard and sat it in his lap. He began entreing more information into the open files on the screen and said, "Yeah, I think that's what Professor's most concerned about. He thinks Shadau may have found the basic ingredients of Chemical X, only he doesn't know it yet. If he figures it out, well, that's a whole new can of worms. That's why he's doing these tests on Dareena and Derrick. To see what he gets without really knowing what he has to start with."

"Is Darion part of the tests, too?" Blossom asked as she watched the monitor flash.

"Yeah, he is, but he's the blood supplier, not a recipient," Reese answered, "Shadau gets it from Darion and gives it to Dareena and Derrick. Puts it in their food, according to this book."

"That's gross!" Blossom exclaimed.

Reese nodded and said, "Yeah, it is when you think of how he gets it. See, Dareena and Derrick told me that they ran away from Shadau because he started taking his 'frustrations' out on them, especially Darion. He was taking the brunt of the abuse from Shadau, and at the time, I couldn't figure out why. Now I think I have."

"OK, well, don't keep me in suspense," Blossom demanded.

"Professor did an analysis of Darion's blood and found what he thinks are the basic ingredients of Chemical X in it, amongst other things. If Shadau found the same thing without actually knowing what it was, well, hell, 'I'll stick this stuff in the others to see what happens', right? So, Shadau beats the hell out of Darion, makes him bleed a bit, collects it, feeds it to the others. Once that's done, he starts the endurance tests instead."

"The endurance tests?" Blossom repeated, "Endurance for what?"

Reese sighed. "Endurance as in 'Wonder if this'll kill him'. Shadau was beating Darion as badly and frequently as possible to see how much he could take and successfully recover from."

Blossom looked shocked as she asked, "Well, doesn't he care that he's hurting Darion at the same time? I mean, he's just a kid!"

"No, Blossom, he doesn't care," Reese stated matter-of-factly, "Do you think twice when you squish a roach in your kitchen? To Shadau, Darion's just a leech to do with as he pleases. It's all in the name of furthering his own information load, that's all. He doesn't care that he's probably beaten the kid a hundred times, so long as he gets what he wants."

"So, now I'm not only a freak with horns, but I'm a meaningless cockroach, too?!" they heard angrily from behind them. Reese and Blossom turned to see Darion standing in the doorway holding another apple. His chest heaved and his orange eyes glared at them.

"No, Darion, that's not what I said," Reese stated.

"Bullshit, that's what I heard!" Darion yelled, "So, he beat the shit outta me all that time for no reason? Do you have any idea how much that sucks?! I thought it was just because I did something wrong, even though he'd never tell me what it was. Now I know, huh? It was 'just because', right?!"

Reese sighed and shook his head. "Darion, look, just settle down, OK? See, this is all..."

Darion suddenly flung the apple he held at Reese and Blossom. They ducked as it blasted by their heads and nailed the computer monitor. The monitor burst into a shower of sparks, glass, and plastic as Darion turned and took off down the hall.

"Darion, wait!" Blossom shouted. She moved to go after him, but Reese grabbed her arm.

"Don't," he said, "Just let him go. He's mad enough now that he may turn on you."

"Then YOU go talk to him!" she demanded.

Reese shook his head. "I think I've done enough damage so far, don't you think?"

Brick made his way downstairs and saw Darion head out the front door. He furrowed his brow and yelled, "Darion, where you goin'?"

Darion continued without answering. Brick headed after him as Blossom came around the corner and hollered, "Brick, no, wait!" He didn't hear her and took off down the street behind Darion.

Darion heard Brick call his name, but instead of stopping, he started running at top speed. Brick accelerated to keep up with him and chased him down the street. Darion began ducking under tree limbs and swerving around cars to avoid Brick as he sped along. They came to an open field with a long sandy hill, and as Darion started down the hill, Brick tackled him from behind. They rolled down the hill to the bottom where Darion tossed Brick off his back and snarled. He lashed out with his claws at Brick who jumped back to avoid the swipe. Brick flew at Darion, picked him up, and pinned him against a large tree. Darion struggled to get out of Brick's grip and screamed, "I'll kill you, damn it!"

Brick shouted, "What's your problem?!" He pulled his left hand back as Darion tried to latch onto him with his fangs. Darion then slugged Brick in the face and took off running again. Brick became enraged and headed out and over Darion. He blew a blast of his fire breath in front of Darion, setting the dry grass ahead of him on fire. Darion skidded to a stop and turned with wide eyes to glare at Brick. He dodged left then stopped again as Brick let loose with his fire breath again.

Brick hovered in front of Darion and glared at him. Darion glared back as he panted. "Get away, Brick, or I'll tear you apart!" Darion declared.

"Yeah, right, even if you could, you'd have five more just like me to deal with afterwards, do you really want that?" Brick shot back.

"At this point, I don't care!" Darion yelled, "Bring 'em on!"

"What is wrong with you?!" Brick demanded, "You flip your wig or somethin'? You don't have a chance against us, Darion, and you know it! Why are you being stupid?!"

Darion held his hands up and shouted, "OK, now I'm a freak, I'm a worthless leech, and, hey, here's the topper! I'm stupid too! WHOO-HOO, let's hear it for me!"

"What is wrong with you?!" Brick again demanded.

"Do you know why Shadau used to beat me all the time?!" Darion asked angrily as he glared at Brick, "To see how much I could take and still manage to get up again! Did I tell you he came after me with an ax once? A really BIG ax, too. I tried to get him to tell me why he was mad at me, but he wouldn't say anything. I tried to run from him, but he nailed me in the back with the ax. That's what the scar that goes over my shoulder is from! It got stuck on my collarbone after he hit me with it, but he just stood on me and wrenched it back out! It took months before I could even move my arm again! But, what the hell, I'm not a real person anyway, I'm just a lowly leech, so who cares! Hell, I'm not even a real leech! Imagine your reaction if you found out that you're nothing but a bunch of junk thrown together in some disgusting bug just to see what happens!"

Brick furrowed his brow and shook his head. "I don't let it bother me, truthfully."

"What are you talking about?" Darion asked sternly.

Brick pointed to himself and replied, "Just snips, snails, and puppy dog tails here, me and my brothers. Only we didn't get stuck in a bug, we got dumped into a jail cell toilet with some kinda toxic waste in it. Presto, here we are."

Darion visibly relaxed and grinned. He giggled, then burst into laughter. He leaned over with his hands on his knees, unable to stop laughing. He looked at Brick and asked, "You're kidding, right?"

Brick grinned back and replied, "If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'."

"So that's why Buttercup calls you guys toilet boys?" Darion snickered.

Brick nodded and answered, "Yep. Made in the toilet. By a crazy monkey, no less. With any luck, she won't call you leech-boy."

Brick landed in front of Darion and said, "You wanna talk to me now?"

Darion slowly stood up and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose so. Even if you are a toilet boy, I guess it'd be good to have at least one friend in the world."

Brick put his hand on Darion's shoulder and said, "Toilet boy and leech boy, what a team!" They both broke into laughter.

Brick suddenly turned as he heard the sound of sirens. "We better get outta here, though, before the fire company shows up. Last thing I need is to be labeled an arsonist, too!"

They sat in Bonsai Gardens under a huge oak tree and watched the other children playing in the Gardens' pools. They had put their cash together and had managed to come up with enough to buy two Cokes and a six-piece fried chicken feast.

Brick watched in amazement as Darion tore his piece apart and devoured the meat. He then put one of the bones in his mouth and strained to bite it in half. Brick heard a crunch that made him shiver, then he chuckled as Darion sucked the marrow out of the bone.

"What?" Darion asked as he chomped on his meal.

"That's gross," Brick replied.

Darion shook his head and returned to picking the chicken apart with his claws. "That's the best part!" he declared.

"I'll take your word for it," Brick answered. He took a huge swig of his Coke, then let out a loud burp. Darion stared with wide eyes at Brick, then looked around to the many families around them. He timidly waved to one woman who had heard Brick's belch and stated, "It's OK, now you know why we don't take him out much. Sorry 'bout that!"

Brick raised an eyebrow at Darion and stated, "This comin' from the kid sucking the marrow outta chicken bones!"

"I'm tellin' ya, that's the good part!" Darion insisted, "That's where all the nutrients are!"

"I'll skip it!" Brick snickered.

They continued eating in silence until Darion suddenly spoke up. "So, what do you wanna talk about?"

Brick shrugged and answered, "Well, for starters, what's with the freak-out session back there?"

Darion shrugged and replied, "I don't know, guess I took the leech news a bit too hard. Well, that, and the fact that I got my ass beat just about every day for no good reason. Tends to make one horribly mad."

Brick nodded and said, "OK, I get it. So what? That's over now, don't dwell on it. And don't let the fact that you came out of a leech get to you either. I mean, unless you're gonna walk around with a big sign stapled to your forehead that says 'Hey, did you know I came out of a leech?' or something, nobody's gonna know the difference."

"Guess you're right," Darion sighed, "If the toilet thing doesn't bother you, I guess I can get passed the leech thing. Still, imagine living with somebody all your life, in your case, Professor Utonium. You rely on him for your very existence, but you walk around oh so carefully, like you're on broken glass. You're terrified of what will happen if you mess up somehow."

Brick chuckled and replied, "Hell, me, Butch, and Boomer are STILL doin' that."

Darion looked confused and asked, "What do you mean? Professor seems to like you three just fine."

"Yeah, I guess so," Brick answered, "He did take us in, and even though we help out Blossom and her sisters, we're not Townsville's most favourite citizens. They tolerate us at best. We do the best we can, but I guarantee you, the first time we step out of line, they'll be after our heads. I remember one time when Boomer went into the Circle J to get a Coke. No problem, right? Well, Mojo Jojo happened to wander in right after him. Word spreads fast in this town. The cops hounded Boomer for weeks wanting to know what he was up to, did he talk to Mojo Jojo, what were they planning together. Total nonsense!"

"At least they didn't beat him," Darion offered.

"Yeah, but if they had a reason to, I'd bet they would have," Brick replied.

"OK, my other problem here," Darion said to change the subject, "I'm sick of being treated like a baby. Derrick is always calling me one, he knows it makes me mad when he does, but he doesn't care. The problem is, now that we're daywalkers, I'm envisioning an eternity of dealing with that!"

"So, don't act like one," Brick stated, "Dareena is always doin' everything for you, and that's cool, but if you don't need her help, just say so." He pointed to Darion's head and added, "You could lose the horns, too, just to show 'em you're serious."

Darion reached up and touched his left horn. "I'd love to, actually, at least people wouldn't look at me funny anymore, but I don't know how. They'll just grow back, anyway."

"So, we'll work on that," Brick replied, "Just stick with us, and everything will be OK."

Darion grinned and said, "So long as you don't mind, I'm all for it!"

Brick shrugged. "You're less of a pain than Bubbles, that's for sure! If we can put up with her, I'm sure me, Butch, and Boomer can show you the ropes, too."


	4. More of Diddy

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup soared over Townsville looking for any signs of Brick and Darion. Meanwhile, Dareena, Derrick, and Reese searched the streets. Boomer, Butch, and Professor Utonium checked all of Brick's usual hide-outs, but found no sign of him. 

"This is not good," Boomer grumbled as he left the local game arcade, "They said they haven't seen Brick in there all day."

Butch sighed and replied, "He's always in there if he's not at the rink!" 

"Yeah, and he's not there, either," Boomer stated.

"What if Darion DID freak out?" Butch asked, "Reese said he was pretty mad when he took off."

Professor shook his head and answered, "Now, let's not think about that until we find them. Darion's changed a bit lately, I think he can control his anger better than we're giving him credit for."

"Well, he better have this time," Boomer threatened, "He's in big trouble if he didn't."

The three of them headed back towards the centre of town where they met up with Reese, Dareena, and Derrick.

"Any sign of them?" Professor asked Reese.

Reese shook his head. "Nah, and we've been everywhere. Found a great place for Chinese food, though!"

"C'mon, can we quit the clowning?" Derrick asked sternly.

"Really, this is no time for joking!" Dareena added.

"Why?" Boomer asked sarcastically, "Afraid Brick might've kicked your baby brother's butt?"

"Boomer, that's enough," Professor stated angrily.

"In your dreams," Derrick shot back, "Brick doesn't stand a chance against Darion."

"Funny, you're the one who always calls him a baby," Butch sneered.

"Butch, I said enough," Professor repeated.

"He's not a baby," Dareena stated sternly.

"He wouldn't be if you didn't treat him like one," Derrick grumbled at Dareena.

"Hey, will you knock it off?" Reese yelled, "I think we've had about all we can stand of that crap!"

"I do NOT treat him like a baby!" Dareena shouted.

"Hey!" Reese hollered. He leaned over to Dareena and planted his hand over her mouth. "That is enough!"

"Gee, this is fun," Professor snickered. Reese mocked laughter and shoved Professor back a step.

Dareena fought back a grin and said, "They started it!" Reese narrowed his eyes at her as she ducked behind Professor and giggled. Reese rolled his eyes and sighed as Professor grinned at him.

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup landed outside the front door of the house looking depressed and downheartened. They had searched everywhere they could think of to find Brick and Darion, but failed.

"So what do we do now?" Bubbles asked.

Blossom tiredly reached for the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door. "I guess we wait and see if the others find them," she replied as she led them inside, "I don't know what else we can..."

"OUCH!" they suddenly heard from the back patio, "Not THAT much!"

"That sounded like Darion!" Buttercup exclaimed.

"Let's go!" Blossom shouted. They blasted towards the back of the house, zooming down the long hallway, and burst onto the patio. There they found Brick, standing in front of Darion, snickering, as Darion stood bent over, shaking his head and running his fingers through his curls. They saw what looked like bone fragments on the concrete at Darion's feet and saw more falling from his curls as he ruffed his hair.

"What are you guys doing?!" Blossom demanded.

Darion stood up and straightened out his curls as Brick turned to face the Girls.

"Oh, man, now that's creepy!" Buttercup stated, "You guys REALLY look alike now!"

The Girls stood with wide eyes as Darion and Brick looked at each other and chuckled. Darion's horns were now gone. 

"Just a little make-over," Brick sneered.

"How did you do that?" Blossom asked as she approached Darion. She felt his head and found only two small bumps where his horns had been. He cringed back a bit and explained, "Still a little touchy, there."

"Sorry," Blossom replied with a smile. She turned to Brick and repeated, "How did you do that? I take it this was YOUR idea."

"Actually, it was a combined effort," Brick replied, "We started with these..." He turned and picked up a pair of wire cutters off the glass table top next to him and held them up. "Trimmed 'em a bit, then just filed the rest off." He handed Blossom another, strange looking tool. It looked like a steak knife with the blade removed and a woodworker's blade taped into the handle instead. 

"Worked like a champ," Brick grinned.

"That's neat!" Blossom exclaimed. She turned to Darion and said, "You really look different!"

"Funny, didn't you just say I look the same as him?" Darion teased.

Blossom giggled and replied, "You look great, how about that?"

"Won't those just come back?" Buttercup wondered.

Darion nodded and explained, "Yeah, but so do my nails, same as yours. I gotta cut those once in awhile or I have a hard time climbing, I'll just keep my horns trimmed, too."

"Is Dareena gonna be mad?" Bubbles asked.

Darion shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I'm not telling her she has to get rid of her horns, now, am I?"

They heard the front door open and voices in the hallway as Reese and Professor returned with the rest of the children. 

"Back here guys, we found 'em!" Blossom shouted.

"Blossom!" Bubbles squeaked, "The guys are gonna be mad!"

"I know, we'll just have to hang on to them til they figure out that Brick's OK," Blossom answered.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, they'll be fine," Brick grumbled as Boomer and Butch blasted through the patio door. He snickered, stepped in front of them, and snatched both of them by their shirts as they attempted to go after Darion.

"Whoa, guys," he told them, "Lay off."

Boomer glared at Darion and asked, "You OK, Brick?"

"Yeah, so just relax, OK?" Brick instructed.

Butch blinked at Brick and said, "Reese said he might be mad enough to go after you."

"We came to an understanding, how's that?" Darion stated as he continued to pick the remaining flakes of his horns from his curls.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Derrick suddenly asked from the doorway. He stood gaping at Darion, now with no horns.

"Holy cow, THAT'S what's different!" Boomer exclaimed, "You got no horns!"

"Why?" Derrick asked angrily as he glared at Brick.

"'Cause I asked him to, Derrick, that's why," Darion replied. Derrick approached his brother and rubbed his head. He turned to Brick and asked, "Can you get rid of mine, too?"

Brick twirled the make-shift file between his fingers and grinned. "We have the power!"

"Now if we could only convince you guys to get haircuts," Buttercup grumbled. All five boys turned to stare at her.

"No way!" Boomer and Derrick stated.

"Not doing the afro look again," Darion said.

"I like my long hair, thanks," Butch replied.

"Fat chance," Brick grunted.

Buttercup sighed and rolled her eyes in disgust.

The next evening, Professor sat pouring over the information his computer continued to spit out at him, trying desperately to find an answer. He had studied the analysis of Darion's blood hundreds of times, but could not find any obvious reason why Shadau would be so interested in reacquiring the boy.

"It's got to be here!" Professor grumbled to himself, "Omnivorous has to be what he wants!"

"What's 'omnivorous' mean?" Professor spun around, startled by the voice from by his side.

Derrick tripped over his own feet in his attempt to back away from Professor and landed on his rump next to Professor's chair. Professor extended his hand towards Derrick, but Derrick quickly scooted backwards to the wall. He sat there, staring at Professor, panting, his grey eyes wide with fear.

Professor stopped where he was and smiled. He raised his hands towards Derrick and said, "Sorry, Derrick, I didn't see you come in. I tend to get wrapped up in this computer and kind of turn off everything else."

Derrick remained where he was, his chest still heaving. Professor stood up and slowly approached Derrick, again offering his hand. Derrick tensed as Professor came closer.

Professor stopped in front of Derrick and again smiled kindly. He leaned over with his hand out to Derrick and said, "It's OK, Derrick, no one's going to hurt you anymore."

Derrick stayed put and replied, "Wish that were true."

"It is for us," Professor stated, "Trust me." Professor looked at Derrick's feet and said, "Hey, nice sneakers!"

Derrick visibly relaxed and slowly took Professor's hand. He grinned as he stood up and said, "Yeah, Reese got 'em for us. We even got to pick which ones we wanted."

Professor chuckled as he returned to his chair. "Well, that was pretty decent of him! New clothes, too?" he asked, pointing to Derrick's new tee shirt. It was charcoal grey with a British flag on it.

Derrick nodded as he leaned on the computer table. He pulled out a bag of popcorn as he looked at the monitor screen.

"Yeah, I got this one and some new jeans. Reese says we'll need them once it gets cold out here," Derrick stated, "Dareena got a new dress and Darion got a hockey shirt. Reese says we can get some more stuff soon."

"That'll be fun, huh?" Professor asked, "Always better to pick your own stuff, isn't it? What's Dareena's dress look like?"

Derrick shrugged. "Uh, white with purple flowers on it. Blossom and Bubbles helped her pick it out. Girl stuff bores me."

Professor chuckled and answered, "OK, so how about Darion's stuff?"

Derrick grinned and replied, "I think Reese figured out how tough it is to find jeans for the skinny little runt. He did get a neat Philadelphia Flyers shirt, though, black, of course. It's kinda cool. The Flyers logo is on the back of the shirt and has flames off the back end of it. The front just has the team name on the left side. He's got a black hat to match it. Says he's gonna wear it like Brick wears his...backwards."

"Darion really likes the Boys, huh?" Professor asked as he continued to page through the information on his computer.

"Yeah, he does," Derrick replied as he watched the monitor, "Maybe he'll grow up a bit if he hangs out with them long enough. They're pretty rough, but they don't seem to mind having him around."

"So, now Darion's going to have a backwards hat, too," Professor said, "As if the two of them don't look enough alike already, especially since you guys lost the horns!"

"Yeah, I think that freaked everybody out, even Dareena," Derrick stated.

"You and Darion going to play hockey with them?" Professor asked.

Derrick nodded and answered, "Yeah, I think so. They're gonna talk to their coach and see if we can."

"That'll be fun, huh?" Professor asked,

"I hope so," Derrick answered, "I have this vision of Darion getting his face beat in, but we'll see."

He looked to Professor and asked, "Why does Darion look so much like Brick, anyway?"

Professor turned to face him and replied, "I truthfully don't know. I thought it was just a huge coincidence at first, but now I'm not sure. Actually, the more I look all this info over, the more I'm convinced that it's Brick who looks like Darion!"

Derrick chuckled and replied, "Oh, now THAT's rich!" He pointed to the monitor and asked, "What is all this stuff, anyway?"

Professor leaned his head in his left hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He looked to the monitor and answered, "It's an analysis of Darion's blood make-up. Reese and I are looking for something Shadau would be interested in in your brother, but so far, nothing seems to be unusual here."

Derrick munched on his popcorn and asked, "So, what's 'omnivorous' mean?"

Professor looked at him and replied, "It means you'll eat just about anything that's decent. I'm beginning to wonder if that's what Shadau is looking for or not, though. You seem to be experimenting with different stuff, too." He pointed to the bag of popcorn.

Derrick shrugged and answered, "Yeah, the Girls got me to try it. It's pretty good. Bubbles has Darion tryin' all kinds of weird stuff. He seems to like most everything she gets him to try, though. He had carrots earlier. Now he loves 'em."

"See, that's what I'm talking about," Professor explained, "That's got to be the key!"

Reese wandered into the lab carrying an armful of Shadau's notebooks. He came to the computer table, put the notebooks down, and leaned over Professor's left shoulder to see the information it displayed. 

"Still nothin', huh?" he asked.

Professor shook his head. "No, nothing totally unusual here, but I can't imagine what else Shadau would be after. I thought for sure the omnivorous aspect would be it."

"What are all those for?" Derrick asked with a chuckle, pointing to the stack of notebooks.

"Well, until Darion crashed it for good, Reese was putting all the info in these into the computer in the front room. We're hoping to find a clue to what Shadau's up to," Professor explained as he took the top notebook and paged through it.

Derrick snickered. "I can't believe you're even bothering with those," he stated, "They're just nonsense anyway."

Reese and Professor turned to him with shocked looks on their faces. "What do you mean?!" Professor asked.

"Exactly what I said," Derrick replied, "Those are the fake ones. Shadau just filled them with ramblings and left them all over the place. Hell, me, Dareena, and Darion even helped him!"

"Why?" Reese demanded.

"'Cause he knew you were tracking him and that you'd pick them up," Derrick said, "You gotta admit, it's been a pretty good way to stall you, huh?"

Reese slowly nodded. "So, this is all just bullshit?" he asked, referring to the pile of notebooks, "Just another part of his game, huh?"

Derrick shrugged. "Well, yeah!" he answered, giggling, "Actually, I can't believe you fell for it as hard as you have!" 

Reese scooped up the pile of notebooks and suddenly flung them at the wall. They hit with a loud bang and pages from them flew everywhere. He spun around and Derrick gasped as he saw that Reese's eyes had changed colour with his anger. They were now blood red.

Derrick took off towards the door to leave the lab in a panic.

"C'mere, you little shit!" Reese hollered. He reached out and snatched Derrick by his left arm as he went by. Derrick let out a yelp and tried to dig his heels in to stop his advance as Reese dragged him over. Derrick hissed loudly, then cringed as Reese answered with a deep snarl that revealed his long fangs.

Professor suddenly stepped to them and tried to shove them apart. He grabbed Reese's hand, still tightly gripped on Derrick's upper arm.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" he shouted, "Reese, let him go!" His heartbeat quickened as Reese turned to face him. Professor could not remember a time he had seen Reese so enraged. He also knew that, without his Girls and the Boys, he was powerless to stop Reese should he decide to tear Derrick apart. 

He took a deep breath and swallowed hard in an attempt to keep his voice from shaking as he sternly repeated, "Let him go, Reese."

Reese's eyes seemed to burn into Professor's skin as he continued to glare at him.

"Please," Professor added. He glared back, hoping his fear of Reese in his current mood would be unnoticed. He put his left arm around Derrick's shoulders and slowly, cautiously pulled him away from Reese. Derrick's entire body trembled as he stared at Reese.

Without a word, Reese let go of Derrick. Derrick let out his breath in a huff and ducked behind Professor, but his eyes remained on Reese. Professor also kept Reese in sight, then relaxed a bit as Reese's eyes slowly began to fade to black again.

"You OK, now?" Professor asked him as he leaned on the computer table with his back to them.

"Yeah," Reese replied as he hung his head.

Professor returned to his lab chair and drew Derrick out from behind him as he sat. He pulled Derrick to him and cupped his chin.

"How about you, kiddo?" he asked as he turned Derrick's gaze away from Reese and to himself.

Derrick panted and quickly nodded his head.

"OK," Professor began, "You said these are fake notebooks, right? Does that mean there are other ones that aren't just to trick us?"  
Derrick shrugged and stammered, "I...I don't...know...I think so."

"So where are they?" Reese growled.

"Told you, I'm not sure. I'm not even sure he HAS others," Derrick insisted. He pointed with a shaky hand at the pile now scattered along the wall. "Where'd you find those?"

"I've found them all over the place," Reese answered, "Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio...all I had to do was follow you guys and your trail of bodies."

"What do you mean 'trail of bodies'?" Derrick demanded.

Reese turned to face him and crossed his arms in front of himself as he leaned his back on the computer table. "All the people you've killed, Derrick, you forget about them? Hell, there's more than twenty of 'em, how could you forget that?"

Derrick's eyes widened and he again began to pant. "We didn't kill anybody!" he screamed, "Except for the one the night you caught us, we didn't kill anybody!"

"What?!" Reese exclaimed as a confused look crossed his face. He again produced the map from the newspaper. He showed it to Derrick and continued, "So this wasn't you and your brother and sister?!"

Derrick nodded and replied, "Well, yeah, that's the same route we followed, but we didn't kill anybody until we got here!"

Reese looked to Professor and tilted his head. "You followin' this?" he teased.

Professor answered, "Yeah, actually."

Reese again looked to Derrick and asked, "So, you, Dareena, and Darion ain't the ones killing all the people in these cities is what you're tellin' me, right?"

"Yeah!" Derrick answered, "We tried to avoid the bigger cities, stayed in the woods and stuff. Plenty of deer and things, especially in Pennsylvania."

"I'm totally lost," Reese stated, "Why did you stick with animals when you KNOW you're strong enough to go after people?"

"Habit, I guess," Derrick replied, "That's all we ever had up until the night you caught us. Even then, we just decided to see what the 'big deal' was. I'm not impressed, truthfully."

"You've never had meat other than animals?" Reese asked.

"Have you ever owned a Mornauck?" Derrick asked.

Reese nodded and answered, "Only one."

Derrick continued, "OK, so, if food's limited, are you gonna feed that dog the same 'steaks' you eat, or is dog food good enough for it? Or, are you the kind to let the dog find its own food?"

"I'm still not following you," Reese stated as he shook his head.

"I am, actually," Professor added, "Shadau never was big on sharing, huh?" he asked Derrick.

Derrick shook his head. "No, we basically fended for ourselves. Considering how small we are, animals seemed like easier targets than full-grown people. Plus, we figured it was wrong to kill something that knew it could die."

Reese turned to Professor and asked, "So, who's the culprit here?"

Professor shrugged and replied, "My guess would be Shadau. You said you found the fake notebooks in most of the same places. I'm thinking Derrick's telling the truth."

"Well, I AM!" Derrick hollered.

Professor waved him off and continued, "Shadau's been following them all this time."

"How?!" Derrick shouted.

"He can sense and find you," Professor explained, "I'm hoping you, your sister, and brother can do the same with him."

"What do you mean?" Derrick asked as he furrowed his brow.

"I'm hoping you guys can let us know when he's close," Professor stated.

"So, what's our next move, genius?" Reese asked sarcastically.

"We split up and see if these 'real' notebooks exist. Chances are, if they're that important, Shadau will keep them close. I've got a few places in mind where he could be hiding out, so we search all of them. Nighttime will be best. That way, he'll be out and about," Professor explained.

"C'mon, let's go," Buttercup grumbled, "I'm sick of this place already."

"Hey, Reese and Professor said to find this book, I'm gonna find it," Brick replied.

The building they had gotten for their search was at one time, an automotive shop. They had headed to the basement and had gaped at the dozen or so bookshelves and stacks of boxes full of books, newspapers, magazines, and notebooks. They had already searched dozens of boxes and looked through hundreds of books on the huge shelves to no avail and Buttercup was fed up.

"They're not even sure it's in here," Buttercup reminded him.

Brick continued tearing through the box in front of him. He pulled a handful of papers out of it and began leafing through them. 

"Well, then, we make sure it's not here before we just quit and figure it's not." Brick replied.

"Why do they even want the stupid thing anyway?" Buttercup asked angrily.

"'Cause it's got all of Shadau's notes in it. Stuff he's done, where he's been, maybe even what he's up to now. The ones Reese has aren't real, from what Derrick told them," Brick replied. He pulled several spiral-bound notebooks out of the box, stacked them in front of his knees as he sat cross-legged on the floor, and started going through the top one.

Buttercup shook her head. "We don't even know what we're lookin' for!" She shoved a stack of books off a large blue desk and watched them crash to the floor. "This could take all day!" she hollered.

"Yeah, and that's gonna help a whole lot," Brick answered, pointing to the books she had knocked over. "Instead of standing there complaining, why don't you start helping me and we can get outta here sooner."

Buttercup glared at him and asked, "Why do I always get stuck with you, anyway?"

"Beats me," Brick answered as he returned to the notebooks, "I'm no happier about it than you, OK?"

Buttercup floated behind him just above his head. "Probably because Blossom thinks you're a wuss," she sneered. She crossed her arms in front of herself expecting Brick to come after her. At least a good fight with him would break up the current boredom.

Surprisingly, Brick continued on with the notebook laying in his lap. "Or, maybe because she knows you're incapable of rational, logical thought processes and figures you're better off with somebody who can make an intelligent decision," he shot back.

She shoved him from behind causing the rest of the notebooks in front of him to fall over. Pages from several of them slid out across the floor.

"Damn it!" Brick yelled as he shot up to face her, "Will you quit it! Why the hell are you picking a fight with me?"

"OOOO," Buttercup sneered, "Little potty mouth comin' out now, too, huh? Been hanging out with the ghouls too long. Especially her."

"What?!" Brick shouted.

Buttercup grinned and nodded her head as she continued to taunt him. "You like her, don't you?"

Brick rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "Oh, brother, here we go..."

"Admit it," Buttercup teased, "You like her."

"Like that has anything to do with this," Brick replied indicating the room they now occupied.

"Actually, it might have a lot to do with this," Buttercup jeered, "Just admit it."

Brick glared at her, trying to keep his temper under control. He clenched his fists and calmly as possible asked, "Are you gonna help me or not? 'Cause I'm about sick of your crap."

"You're a spoiled brat," Buttercup stated angrily.

"Look who's talkin'," Brick answered. "You gonna help me or not?"

Buttercup furrowed her brow and slowly shook her head. "No," she said, "I'm goin' back."

"Fine," Brick replied, "Go then." He turned away from her and started picking up the mess they had created.

Buttercup scowled at his back then floated out of the room. "Enjoy yourself, bookworm! Don't go getting lost in there!" she shouted back to him.

Brick angrily continued to pick up the papers and books that Buttercup had dumped. He put the papers from the spiral notebooks in another pile and plopped them on top of the one he had been looking through before Buttercup had left. He then organized the books she had pushed over into three piles and put the stacks back on the desk one at a time. 

As he shoved the last pile onto the desk and pushed them back, the top book's corner caught on a ruler on a small shelf. It turned and a bin of pens, pencils, notepads, and other office supplies, caught on the end of the ruler. It finally reached the end of the shelf then fell, startling Brick. A cloud of dust puffed up as the bin landed on top of the books and spilled over.

"Great," Brick grumbled. He felt a strong sneeze rising and put his hands over his nose and mouth. He looked through watery eyes at the room full of paper, cardboard, and dry wood. 

"Oh no," he groaned. He sneezed once, twice, then a third time, the third one tearing at the back of his throat, then stopped. He looked around and grinned with satisfaction at having finally controlled his fire breath. He sighed with relief. "Woulda turned me into a crispy critter!" he chuckled.

As he went to pick up the rest of the spiral notebook pages, he heard someone laughing. He looked up towards the next room as he heard movement with his ultra sonic hearing. 

"Buttercup?" he called, "What, you changed your mind?"

He then heard more movement from the room to his left along with more laughter. He sighed, shook his head, and dropped the spiral pages back to the floor.

"More fun and games, hooray," he grumbled as he headed for the sounds in the next room. 

"C'mon, Buttercup, quit the games, will ya?" He suddenly stopped in the doorway of the room and gaped at what he saw.

"Whoa-ho, you are definitely NOT Buttercup!" he exclaimed. Standing in the room before him was a creature unlike anything he had ever seen. It stood over seven feet tall with slimy grey skin. Its hands and feet were spiked with claws and its hair looked more like grotesque tentacles on its enormous misshapen head. It opened its mouth upon seeing Brick and let out a chilling howl through its many rows of long fangs. Its murky red eyes, all three of them, blinked individually as it glared at him.

The creature howled again and lunged at Brick with its claws. Brick shot up over the beast's head narrowly escaping its claws and blasted it with his lasers. The creature screamed and swung at Brick again as he ducked away from it. Brick saw his opportunity and flew at the beast. He punched it in the face with all his strength and was shocked as he saw that the monster barely budged. Its eyes blinked at him, then, with lightning speed, it swatted him away like a fly. The monster nailed him in the face and sent him sailing backwards into a concrete wall. 

Brick smashed into the wall and landed on the floor with a crash of concrete around him. Through the dust, Brick tried to get up as the room blurred in front of his eyes. He felt he had never been hit so hard in his life. He saw blood dripping from his face and realized that his nose was bleeding and his lips had been split open. He felt something in his mouth and spat in the concrete dust. He saw three of his teeth lying on the floor in front of him. Brick realized that this monster was going to be more than he could handle on his own, but as he tried to take off and blast out of the room, he discovered that he could no longer fly. He couldn't focus his eyes and the room around him remained a blur. 

The monster howled its victory over him and reached out to grab him. Brick tried again to take off, then something slammed into the back of his head and he was knocked out cold.

Brick woke up to find he was lying on his stomach on a white tile floor. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, nor where he was, but outside, the evening had now turned to night. He saw his red baseball hat lying in the middle of the floor ahead of him, then saw a small pool of his own blood on the floor from his nose and mouth as he slowly lifted his aching head up. He also saw that he was surrounded by several pairs of hideous looking feet. 

He looked up to see an unimaginable collection of monstrous beasts circled around him, each one more hideous than the next. The one who had smashed him into the wall was standing to his left. 

To his right, he saw a monster that was roughly six feet tall with plaster-white skin, a single huge brown eye, and gnarled hands with fingernails that looked as if they had been filed into pointed claws. It drooled profusely through snaggled teeth and the only clothing it wore was a fur loincloth. 

Standing near Brick's left leg was another monster, also about six feet tall, with green skin, beady yellow eyes, and ears that came to points above its head. It stood like a kangaroo and the tip of its muscular tail flicked back and forth as it opened and closed its mouth around its long fangs. 

The one standing by his right leg towered to eight feet tall and was covered in dirty white fur. Its bluish eyes blinked rapidly and its large nostrils flared as it breathed. It grinned at him with short pointed fangs and the fur on its arms rippled as it flexed its clawed hands into fists. 

Brick saw another creature perched on a long counter behind the others. Its snake-like skin was olive in colour and its wide yellow eyes glared at him. A forked tongue flicked between its fangs.

The monster standing directly in front of Brick was the most hideous of the bunch. It was easily eight feet tall with scaly purple and green skin and neon green eyes. Its pupils narrowed like a cat's and its long neck flared out into a hood like a cobra as it hissed at Brick. Though it only had three fingers to each hand, its claws looked needle sharp. Its long thin tail flicked back and forth like a whip and it had a large point on it that looked like an arrow head. Its snout was longer on the bottom than on the top and its lower fangs protruded out of its mouth and curled upwards. 

It suddenly snarled at Brick and reached out to grab him. Brick quickly scooted between its legs and towards the room's only door. The snake-skinned monster shrieked and leaped off the counter towards him. Brick fell backwards trying to avoid the beast and hit it with a blast of his fire breath, but he quickly turned it off as he realized that he was also burning his own swollen mouth. He put his hands over his mouth as his lips throbbed, but the short blast he had hit the creature with was apparently enough. The beast burned quickly, howling and screaming as it flailed around the room. The other monsters stood in apparent oblivion and watched it go up in flames. It suddenly exploded in a shower of blood and muck. Brick covered his head as pieces of the monster came down all around him. He looked up, panting, as the other monsters turned towards him. 

"Well," he said through his aching lips, "It's been a fun time, guys, but I gotta go now." He tried to get up and run towards the door, but was stopped by the purple monster's whip-like tail that snapped around his right leg causing a long, deep gash in Brick's calf. The monster then dragged Brick across the floor back towards itself and its cohorts.

The grey-skinned monster grabbed Brick by the throat with its left hand wrapped completely around Brick's neck and picked him up. Brick tried to escape the monster's grip and swallowed hard as the monster tightened its hold, choking Brick's breathing. It pulled him close to its face and growled at him.

A man in flowing white robes entred the room and approached the monsters. He had long white hair and moustache and a long white beard. His nose was long and pointed and his forehead was tall and strong. He stopped when he saw Brick and angrily yelled, "That's not the one!" 

He stepped over chunks of the snake-skinned monster and peered at Brick hanging from the grey monster's hand. His brow furrowed over his grey eyes and he shook his head. "Not the one I needed." He rubbed his beard as if thinking. 

"Although..." The man walked to a tall metal cabinet, searched around in it, and returned holding a cotton swab. He grabbed a handful of Brick's hair to hold him still and shoved the swab up Brick's bleeding nose. 

"OWWW!" Brick screamed as he struggled to pull back. He tried kicking at the man, but he stayed out of Brick's reach as he wiped blood out of Brick's nose. The man pulled the swab out of Brick's nose and thoughtfully dropped it into a small plastic bag. 

"We'll see just what we've got here anyway. Can't let an opportunity pass you by," the man stated.

Brick panted with anger and attempted to get loose from the grey monster again. "Lemme go!" he hollered, then he gagged as the monster choked him off. The man in robes turned and headed out of the room. 

One of the beasts grunted incoherently at him, but the man turned as if he understood. "Do as you like with him," the man said, "Just don't eat him. I'm not sure he'd be very good for you." 

He then left the room and Brick faced with the monsters' fury alone.


	5. Even More Diddy

**__**

Chapter 16

The bat soared over Townsville, scanning for any sign of Shadau. It knew he was near, it just didn't know what to look for. It landed outside an abandoned coal mine and separated. Dareena looked around and furrowed her brow. 

"You hear that?" she asked her brothers, "Or is it just me?"

Derrick listened, but shook his head. "Nope," he replied, "Nothing. Why, what do YOU hear?"

Dareena shook her head. "Never mind, I guess I'm dreaming. Let's check out this place."

"Professor said this might be one spot where he could hide out," Darion stated, "It's dark, underground...if he's here, he could do whatever he wants."

"Did you two see the swamps back there?" Derrick asked, pointing back towards where they had came from, "That's nasty."

"Yeah, looked like a farm once," Dareena explained, "Guess there's no money in it anymore."

"Did you see the fountain still working, though?" Derrick added, "Kinda strange, huh?"

"OK, I get the point," Dareena grumbled, "Let's just concentrate on the job at hand, OK?"

"You thinking Shadau could be at that farm instead?" Darion asked of Derrick.

"Forget it," Dareena answered, "Too dirty. If Shadau's anything, he's a neatness freak, remember?"

"Yeah," Darion grumbled, remembering a time when Shadau had beaten him for over an hour for walking across their white carpet with muddy feet, "How could I forget?"

They approached the mine's boarded up entrance and Derrick and Darion tore the boards off to allow them to go in. They cautiously looked all around them, checking for any signs of Shadau.

"This is creepy," Derrick whispered.

Dareena nodded and replied, "Yeah, you're not kidding."

They continued down a long tunnel and found a string of bare bulbs in one end of the tunnel. Looking to their right, they saw the string ended, but to their left, it continued on. They headed left under the lights to a set of tracks used at one time for rail cars. They carefully made their way across the tracks to a span with a drop of over 500 feet below them.

"Give me your hands," Dareena instructed.

"OK, why?" Darion asked.

"'Cause if we fall through this rickety thing, it would be nice if we're all together to fly back up, right?" Dareena replied. They locked hands and headed over the span. Derrick felt queasy as he looked over the edge. He closed his eyes and followed Dareena's gentle tugs on his hand.

They reached the other side of the long span safely and continued on. They saw a long tunnel unlit, to their left, and another one to their right with a single bulb hanging from the stone ceiling. They headed right to a small glass room that looked like an office. 

Dareena suddenly stopped and gasped. She pointed to a desk within the office and saw a pile of notebooks, different from what Reese had.

"C'mon!" she whispered.

They quickly went to the door of the office and found it locked. 

"Damn it!" Dareena grumbled as she tried to turn the knob, "Looks like we're not getting in there without making a bunch of noise."

"Well, if we have to, we have!" Derrick answered in a whisper. He backed up to get a running start at the glass wall around the office.

"Derrick!" Dareena called, "Don't!"

Derrick ran passed her, headed for the glass. He was snatched back by Darion who glared at him.

"NOT that way!" he stated, "Just hold on a second, will ya?!"

Derrick threw Darion's grasp off and answered, "OK, baby boy, YOU try it!"

Darion growled low in his throat, but instead turned to the locked door. He grabbed the knob and tried to turn it. It did not budge. He leaned into it and put all his strength into turning the knob. They suddenly heard a pinging noise as the back half of the door knob fell off and landed on the floor inside the office. Darion pulled the outside half off and reached into the lock. He tripped the latch and pulled the door open.

"Easy as that!" he stated sternly at Derrick.

Derrick rolled his eyes and replied, "Yeah, whatever...beginner's luck."

Dareena gaped at Darion and asked, "How did you DO that? I tried it and it wouldn't move!"

Darion shrugged. "I don't know, does it matter?" He crept into the office followed by Dareena and Derrick. Dareena went to the small pile of notebooks and began paging through the top one. She quickly scanned the pages to see if they were indeed the 'real' thing.

"Sorry, Darion," she remarked, "Told you the leech thing was for real." She held up one of the notebooks and showed Darion a picture of what she remembered him emerging from. "Sorry, kiddo."

Darion shrugged. "Oh well, guess I won't ever live that one down, huh?"

"So, are those what we're looking for?" Derrick asked nervously as he looked out the office door.

Dareena nodded and picked up the books. "Yeah, I think so. Let's get outta here, what do you say?"

"Good call," Derrick stated. They suddenly heard a loud howl from down one of the dark tunnels. "Think that's a REAL good call right now!"

Dareena's eyes widened and she stammered, "What the hell was that!?"

Derrick hurried both her and Darion out of the office and replied, "Let's not find out right now, OK?"

"That's not Shadau!" Dareena stated as they began running back the way they had come. They came to a junction of tunnels and Dareena realized she forgot which one they had come from. They again heard the howling from behind them and a loud snuffling noise.

"Which way?" Derrick shouted.

Dareena shook her head in a panic. "I...I don't know!"

Darion shot down one of the lighted tunnels and called, "This way!"

"How do you know?!" Derrick yelled as he and Dareena ran to catch up with their brother down the tunnel. Much to their amazement, the tunnel led directly to the railing span they had crossed.

"Damn, how did you know?!" Derrick demanded.

Darion shrugged. "I don't know! You really want to argue with me right now?"

"No," Derrick replied as they quickly headed back across the span. The boys stopped suddenly as they heard a shriek from behind them. The added weight Dareena carried had caused her to fall through the weakened railing. They watched her fall, still clutching the notebooks.

"C'mon!" Darion hollered. He dove over the railing and headed towards Dareena. Derrick shook his head. 

"Damn it, you're gonna get me killed yet!" he grumbled, then, he too, dove over the railing. The boys headed straight to Dareena and they morphed into the bat as soon as they got close enough. The bat looked down and saw the jagged floor of the chasm below it and pulled up quickly. Its belly scraped against the wall as it soared back up and headed for the exit to the mine.

The bat looked behind it as the loud howling sounded again. It saw a pair of large yellow beady eyes glaring at it along with a strange orange glow from the darkness of the tunnel behind it. The bat turned in time to see the exit and realized it couldn't pull its wings in quickly enough to get through the small cave. It nailed the exit on both sides and separated as it emerged outside. Dareena, Derrick, and Darion tumbled across the ground outside the mine.

"OUCH!" Derrick screamed as he tried to get to his feet. He held his right arm, now numb from his collision with the stone wall. He managed to stand up, then leaned over and rubbed his shoulder as a large red welt began to rise. "That hurt!"

"Yeah, I know!" Darion hollered as a welt also appeared on his left shoulder. He rubbed his left arm and shook it in an attempt to get some feeling back into it.

"Well, it was no picnic for me, either!" Dareena hollered from her seated position on the ground. Both boys saw that her dress was torn across her stomach, yet she had managed to hold onto the notebooks.

"I see you kept those, though!" Derrick shouted.

"Hell yeah!" Dareena yelled back, "After all this, you're damned right!"

"Let's just go!" Darion shouted. He helped Dareena to her feet and the three of them took off running back towards Townsville.

They wearily entred the Utonium household and both boys plopped on the couch. Dareena went to the kitchen and dropped the notebooks on the table as Blossom came into the room.

"You found them!" she exclaimed. Then she noticed the bloody scrapes on Dareena's stomach. "What happened?"

"It was no pleasure cruise, trust me," Dareena replied as she slowly lowered herself into one of the chairs and began going through the notebooks. She divided the stack in half and pushed one pile towards Blossom. They paged through them lightning fast and tossed them aside as they found them to be useless.

"Damn it, don't tell me we went through all that for NOTHING!!" Dareena screamed as she chucked another notebook over her shoulder.

"Not totally for nothing," Derrick called from the couch. He leaned forward and again rubbed his shoulder. "We found something in that mine."

Blossom rifled through another notebook, tossed it aside, and asked, "Like what?"

"Something really big and nasty," Darion explained as he leaned his head back on the couch.

"Like what?" Boomer asked as he and Butch came into the living room, "Professor and Reese said they found something, too, out at the cereal factory."

Darion shook his head tiredly and replied, "Don't know what it was, and none of us were exactly interested in sticking around long enough to find out."

Butch went into the kitchen and began going through the notebooks on the floor as Bubbles came in and joined him.

"We already been through those, guys," Blossom grunted as she flew through another notebook.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to give 'em a second look, now, does it?" Butch grumbled as he quickly paged through one.

"Guess not," Dareena stated.

Bubbles picked up three notebooks then ducked as Blossom threw another one aside and nearly nailed her in the face.

"Hey, watch it!" she grumbled.

"Sorry," Blossom grunted back.

"Is this all of 'em?" Butch asked.

"All I could find and carry, yeah," Dareena answered.

Boomer came into the kitchen and went to the refrigerator. As he opened it, Dareena hit the door with one of the notebooks. 

"Whoa, there, missy!" he complained.

"Sorry," Dareena barked, "Can't you think of anything other than food right now?"

"Not when I'm hungry," Boomer shot back. He brought out a container of juice, then froze and stared at the notebook Dareena had thrown at the door. It had fallen open, and Boomer recognized one of the hand-drawn pictures on its pages. He blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, then grinned. He closed the refrigerator door, slurped the juice from the container, and picked up the notebook. He snickered and approached the table.

"What's so funny?!" Butch demanded.

Boomer slammed the open notebook back onto the table next to Blossom. "Tell me, what does THIS look like?" he sneered.

Blossom sighed irritably, then looked at the drawing. Her eyes opened wide as she also recognized the layout sketched in the notebook.

She grinned and exclaimed, "Holy cow, that looks like Farmsville's old broccoli farm!"

"It's what?" Dareena asked.

"It used to be a broccoli farm till they had a bad crop. It was abandoned a couple years ago and auctioned off recently," Blossom answered with a gleam in her eye. 

"Well, that's gotta be where these are," Butch called from the floor. He stood up and turned the notebook he had been looking through towards Blossom. "The books Reese had said something about Shadau raising leeches. Seems to me the swamps all over the fields now would be a perfect place."

Blossom looked at the page and saw several rectangles drawn over the farm's layout. She nodded and stated, "Well, if that's the place, these rectangles must be the pools where he's raising his leeches!"

"Well, this is REALLY gonna be nasty," Dareena exclaimed, "Look what he's putting in the water to improve his harvest."

She turned her notebook to Blossom who read, "Drained in-house septic tank, filled back field #4."

"Ewww!" Bubbles squealed.

Boomer snickered and stated, "Oh, it gets better, trust me!" He showed the book he had to Dareena and she shivered. "Yeah, isn't THAT yummy!"

"What?" Butch demanded.

"Pig guts, chicken parts, miscellaneous debris," Boomer replied.

"Aww, man," Butch groaned.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?!" Derrick demanded as he and Darion staggered into the kitchen.

Blossom tore the pages in question out of the notebooks and laid them on the table in a row as the others gathered around her. 

"OK," she began, "This is an old farm just outside of town. It was sold recently, but so far, nobody's seen any activity out there. At least, not in the daylight."

"Well, that would explain this, then," Dareena stated as she pulled a folded legal document from the back cover of one of the notebooks. "It's a land deed, by the looks of it."

"The same one we went over?" Darion asked as Dareena nodded her head.

"You said you heard something out there, right?" he asked her. She again nodded.

"Wonder if that's what Professor was talking about," Derrick wondered aloud. They turned to him as he explained, "He said that Shadau knows where we are 'cause he can sense us or something. Professor said we might be able to do the same thing."

"Why is he following us in the first place?" Darion asked angrily.

Blossom sighed and answered, "'Cause he apparently wants you back, Darion. At least, that's what Professor and Reese are thinking."

Darion's eyes widened as he stammered, "What?! Why? What did I do??"

"It's not what you did, Darion," she explained, "It's what you have in you. Professor's been studying a sample of your blood and thinks you have the same stuff in you that we do...Chemical X."

"Chemical what?!" Dareena exclaimed.

"Whoa, you gotta be kidding!" Butch said.

"It's the stuff that gives us our powers," Bubbles stated, "But, how did Darion get it, too? Does that mean you're like us?"

Blossom shook her head. "No, Bubbles, Darion only has the basic ingredients of it. What Professor and Reese are afraid of is what if Shadau figures out how to complete the formula?"

"Oh, hell, why am I picturing an entire herd of Mornaucks with those damned laser eyes you guys have?" Derrick groaned.

"'Cause that's what it could lead to," Boomer suggested, "If all those swamps out there are full of Shadau's leeches, imagine how many Mornaucks he could get out of 'em."

"What kind of sound was it?" Blossom asked.

Dareena shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it," she replied, "I thought it was just the wind or something."

"We're obviously not very good at this," Darion stated.

"Let's hope you improve," Boomer grumbled.

Blossom nodded as an intense look crossed her face. She looked them over and stated, "OK, it's already 2:30 in the morning, the sun'll be up in a few hours. I think we all know where we're going, right?"

"Yeah," Boomer agreed, "No time like the present. If he's out there, nighttime is gonna be the time to go get him."

Dareena slammed the notebook she had been paging through shut and stood up, clutching her wounded stomach as she went. "OK, guys," she declared with a grin, "Time to go."

They headed towards the front door and all jumped as it suddenly opened and Buttercup entred.

"Damn it, don't scare me like that!" Dareena exclaimed.

"Sorry," Buttercup giggled, "Didn't mean to!"

Boomer looked behind her and asked, "Where's Brick?"

"He shouldn't be too far behind me," Buttercup answered, "Once he figures out the place we got was a dud."

"You left him alone?" Butch asked.

"No," Buttercup lied, "I took off first, that's all. He'll be here soon."

"He'll probably just hang out here anyway," Butch grumbled, "The lazy creep."

"Well, we can't wait for him," Blossom stated, "We gotta go."

"Where?" Buttercup asked.

"Farmsville broccoli fields," Blossom answered, "That's apparently where Shadau's raising his next crop."

"I just know I'm gonna be sick!" Bubbles grimaced.

"Huh?" Buttercup asked.

"Don't worry, we'll fill you in on the way," Butch answered, giggling.

"Why do I think I'm NOT going to like this?" Buttercup groaned.

They went outside and took off into the air followed closely by the bat. They headed out of Townsville on their way towards Farmsville and Shadau's leech farms.

The bat landed on one side of the farm complex as the others streaked passed to get a look at the back fields. It separated, and Derrick immediately sniffed the air. He wrinkled his nose and complained, "Oh, my GAWD, it STINKS around here!"

"Oh, quit your noise," Dareena instructed as she looked around the complex.

She saw the farm's main house and noticed its rundown state. The shutters green paint was peeling and several were falling off their hinges. The building had at one time been gleaming white, but now was stained a greyish yellow. She saw the windows were dusty as the full moon's light reflected off their now opaque surfaces and two in the front of the building were broken. She grimaced as a rat scurried out of one of them and scooted through a collapsed board on the front porch and disappeared.

"Nobody's been here for quite awhile," she guessed, "Still seems way too dirty for Shadau." She shook her head and continued to walk around the complex they stood in.

"So, what are we supposed to be listening for?" Derrick asked her.

She shook her head and replied, "Told you, Derrick, I don't know how to explain it. It just sounded like the wind blowing through a long pipe or something. That's all I can tell you." 

Blossom, Buttercup, Bubbles, Butch and Boomer landed next to an open lake of water at the back corner of the farm's expansive grounds. Butch cautiously approached the pool and peered over the ledge as his eyes glowed neon green. He furrowed his brow and stated, "I think we found the right place."

Boomer picked up a long stick and reached into the water with it. He swirled the stick around and drew it out. Hanging from the stick was a slimy muck that appeared to move. He narrowed his eyes at it as he raised it into the strong moonlight, then dropped the stick in the water.

"Yeah, I'd say so. Leeches. Bunches of 'em." he said as he wiped his hands on his jeans.

"So, now what?" Buttercup grumbled as she also searched the darkened area with her night vision. She was beginning to get nervous over the fact that Brick had not yet arrived. She dismissed her uneasiness and remembered what Butch had said. Brick would more than likely stay at the house.

"Let's look around while we've still got the full moon with us," Blossom suggested, "We stay together, though, OK?"

They all nodded their agreement and spread out in a rough circle. They searched the grounds around them for any signs of Shadau, then they headed towards the farm's enormous barns.

Darion suddenly stopped short and blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things. From a side door in one of the buildings, he saw a man in white emerge outside and head across the yard. He snarled loudly, then pointed to the man.

"THERE HE IS!" he shouted. Dareena and Derrick whirled around to face the man as he also turned to face them. Dareena shrieked at him as a wicked grin crossed her face.

Shadau took off running as they headed after him at full speed. Shadau suddenly leaped into the air and they watched as wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and he soared over the farm.

Dareena turned towards the back of the farm and shouted, "BLOSSOM! We got him!!" She and the boys then morphed into the bat and tore after Shadau as he glided over the farm's buildings and fields. The bat quickly closed the distance between itself and Shadau until he suddenly turned and delivered a vicious kick to one of the bat's eyes, causing it to stop and separate. They dropped to the ground, and as Dareena wiped her eye, Shadau continued on. 

Derrick took off after him on foot, running like a madman to catch him, and howling angrily. He came within reach of Shadau and leaped to grab him. Shadau kicked out again and caught Derrick in the right temple, spilling him to the ground. He quickly rolled back to his feet and chased Shadau as he glided over a ridge. Derrick made a last attempt to grab him, then the ground fell away quickly into a steep embankment. Derrick could hear Shadau's laughter as he floated away. Derrick skidded down the embankment on his rump. He then saw an open cess pool of slime and muck at the end of the hill and his eyes widened as he realized he couldn't stop. He dug his heels into the ground and dragged his fingernails behind him desperately trying to slow down. He gradually slowed and finally came to a teetering stop at the edge of a drop that would have landed him directly in the pool.

Panting, he stood up on wobbly legs and looked over the edge. He could see hundreds of leeches squirming in the murky water and the smell made him wrinkle his nose. 

"Nasty buggards, aren't ya?" he stated. He started to turn and walk away when Dareena came sliding up behind him. She smacked into his legs, knocking him off his feet and he landed on the edge of the pool again. She shoved at him as she tried to back away from him. "No! Don't...!"

He didn't get out "push" before Darion slid down the hill as well, smacking into Dareena hard enough that she slammed Derrick forward. He sailed out over the pool and landed with a thick sounding sploosh in the filthy water.

He surfaced quickly to find Dareena and Darion laughing hysterically at him. He climbed out of the muck and shook the slime from his hands to wipe his eyes as both his siblings collapsed into giggles. Darion laughed until his sides hurt as Derrick glared at him. Derrick pulled a long thick string of slime from his hair and flung it at Darion who tried to turn away before it smacked wetly across the side of his face and tangled in his curls.

"Aw, yuck!" Darion yelled. He wiped the slime off his face and pulled at the strings in his hair. "Ya know, if roles were reversed here, you'd be laughing, too!" he declared angrily.

Derrick pulled his shirt off and dropped it on the ground with a wet plop. "Well, yeah, because then it would be funny!" he replied as he plucked leeches from his stomach. He grimaced as he pulled one off the left side of his ribcage that had already begun to fatten with his blood. He held it up to Dareena who skittered back. 

"Don't you dare!" she threatened, though unable to control her giggles. She caught a glimpse of Shadau as he headed back into Townsville. "Look, there he is!"

Derrick plucked another leech off his arms and yelled, "Well, let's go get him!"

"I'm not gettin' near you! What, you want me to end up stinking like you, slime-boy?" Dareena snorted. "Besides," she continued as she pointed to the five streaks of colour on their way after Shadau, "They'll get to him first."

They raced after Shadau as the beast flew towards Townsville.

"OK, guys, let's get 'em!" Blossom shouted as they accelerated to catch Shadau. Buttercup reached him first, grabbed onto his right wing, and put on the brakes to slow him enough for the others to catch up. Blossom blasted him with her ice breath and froze his wings as he swung his claws at Buttercup. Boomer and Butch grabbed him by the feet and flung him towards the ground. They followed him to the ground as he landed with a thud. Blossom hit him with a power punch as he tried to stand up. He flew backwards to Butch who tripped him up as Buttercup hit him again towards Boomer. Shadau lashed out with his claws at Boomer and scraped across his chest. Boomer picked him up and tossed him back into the centre of their ring where Bubbles blasted him with her lasers. Shadau writhed and howled as the laser blasts burned him. 

"You're done here, Shadau," Blossom declared.

"All that's left is to burn your little farm back there, huh?" Buttercup sneered.

Shadau attempted to run, but Butch caught him and slugged him back to the ground. "OOOPS!" he snickered, "Sorry, no harvest this time."

Boomer kicked Shadau. He then stood back and held his chest as blood ran down and stained his shirt from the cuts Shadau had caused. "Total crop output zero, sorry."

Shadau slowly sat up as blood ran from his nose and mouth. Surprisingly, he laughed at them. "Really?" he sneered, "You're sure about that?"

Blossom glared at him and replied, "We'll make sure, count on it."

Shadau looked them over and quietly counted them off. "Hmm," he teased, "I only count five. Could there be one of you missing?"

Boomer narrowed his eyes at Shadau. "Yeah, so? So he's a little on the slow side, he'll be here to kick your ass, too. Be patient."

"I don't think so," Shadau growled. He pointed back towards the farm and said, "In fact, if you're lucky, you might make it back in time to mop up what's left of him with a sponge."

Blossom slugged him again and replied, "Not falling for it, Shadau. He doesn't even know we're out here."

"Yeah, he's probably lost in your little basement library," Buttercup sneered.

"Plus, you don't have any goons to call on," Butch pointed out, "Your last three are with us, now, remember? I KNOW you couldn't take Brick all by yourself, ya tired old man."

"True," Shadau cackled, "Those little worms may have turned on me, but my latest treasures are quite impressive. Not exactly what I had in mind, but, hey, effective, nonetheless."

"You're bullshitting us," Boomer grunted, "You don't have any new ones. Reese said you haven't had the time yet."

"And we saw your pools," Bubbles stated angrily, "They're all still little leeches, so there!"

"Let's also not forget that Brick has no idea where we are right now, either," Blossom repeated.

"Ahh, Reese, so that old man is still trying to track me down, huh? You'd think after 500 years he would've quit. Does that also mean that your precious little brother couldn't be brought here?" Shadau asked sarcastically, "Oh, but of course, I don't have any 'goons', as you call them, to take your brother, do I?"

"Knock it off, Shadau, you're bluffing," Blossom declared. She looked to the others and said, "Let's drag him back to town. Reese will know what to do with him."

"Wait a second!" Boomer yelled as he continued to glare at Shadau, "What if he's not kidding?"

Shadau grinned an evil grin and chuckled at Boomer. "You know I'm not."

"Reese said he hasn't had enough time, Boomer," Butch stated.

"Reese is a fool," Shadau replied, "He's so wrapped up in trying to get rid of my kind that he forgets just how resourceful we can be." He waved towards the farm and chuckled. "Ever heard of stepping up production? Your poor little brother is figuring out what that can mean right now."

Bubbles looked to Blossom and quietly asked, "What do we do?"

"We take him back!" she yelled, "We got him, let's go!"

Shadau sat with his arms draped over his knees. He made no attempt to escape and looked at each of them confidently. He looked to his wrist at an imaginary watch. "Time's a-wasting, kiddies," he gloated, "What did you say his name was? Brick? He'll be dead soon. Better hurry."

Butch turned and shouted back towards the farm with his ultra sonic voice. "Brick!" His cries echoed eerily. "This isn't funny, damn it!"

Shadau snickered as he uncovered his ears and said, "He won't be able to hear you much longer. Shame, too. Loved those red eyes." 

He smiled with satisfaction as they all began to panic. Blossom looked around and spotted a large grain silo in the dim light from the slowly rising sun. "There," she pointed.

Buttercup and Boomer shot over to the silo's top and strained to pull its top off. They broke it loose and waited as Blossom hit Shadau with another blast of her ice breath, freezing not only his wings, but his arms around him. Butch saw a empty five gallon bucket that had at one time had plaster in it, flew over and grabbed it and slammed it over Shadau's head. 

"No teeth, either." he stated. 

Shadau struggled to break free from the ice as they carried him up to the silo's top and dropped him in. He howled as he fell to the ground inside. 

"Now don't you go away," Blossom instructed. Buttercup and Boomer slammed the silo's top back on and the five of them welded it shut with their lasers. They headed back towards the farm to find Brick. 

As they soared over head, they spotted Dareena, Darion, and Derrick at the large fountain in the middle of the complex. They landed and noticed that Derrick was standing in the fountain's spewing waterfalls, completely naked, scrubbing his head. Dareena leaned over the fountain's rim wringing out Derrick's now soaking wet shorts as Darion dunked his head in the water and also scrubbed his head. He pulled his head out of the water and wrung the excess out of his long curls. "That's better!"

"No modesty here, huh?" Blossom stated.

Derrick turned and walked to the edge of the fountain as he squeezed the water from his hair. "What?" he shrugged. He took his shorts from Dareena and put them on. He jumped up and down trying to get water out of his ears as Blossom shook her head.

"What?" he asked again when he noticed her disapproval.

"What is it with you guys?" she asked as she turned to Butch and Boomer, "Don't boys wear underwear, for cryin' out loud?"

Boomer rolled his eyes as Butch replied, "I can't believe you're still on that rant."

"Well, at least you guys are finally getting some tan lines!" Bubbles giggled.

Derrick and Darion snickered as Dareena shook her head. "Oh, brother..." she moaned.

"We gotta find Brick," Butch stated.

Derrick and Darion looked at him, confused. "I thought you said he'd probably stay at the house?" Darion said as he took off his shirt and wiped his face. He laced his shirt through one of his belt loops and let it hang by his side to dry. He then put his black hat back on his head.

"Shadau seems to think he's here," Blossom groaned as she gave Boomer and Butch a sideways look, "He also says he has some new, what did he call them?...'treasures'. I think he's trying to fake us into believing he's got a new crop of cronies."

"So, if Brick's not here, how did Shadau know what colour his eyes are?" Butch asked angrily.

Blossom rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Where IS Shadau?" Dareena asked.

Bubbles pointed to the silo. "He's in there."

"He's staying put for a while," Buttercup added, "Sun's comin' up now."

"Can we just look around now instead of standing here?" Boomer urged.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and said, "Aw, man, I can't believe you guys are fallin' for this."

"Well, maybe if you woulda stuck with him, like you were supposed to, we'd be out of here, now, wouldn't we?" Boomer shot back angrily, "Didn't you listen to Reese and Professor? I was standin' there, too, and I distinctly remember them both saying 'DON'T GET CAUGHT ALONE'!" he screamed at her.

Buttercup became enraged and lunged at Boomer. Blossom and Bubbles grabbed her as Butch, Darion, and Derrick held Boomer back. They shouted at each other until Dareena stepped between them and angrily shoved them all apart.

"Will you stop it!" she shrieked. She turned to Boomer and continued, "Look, if Brick's here, he's in big trouble. If Shadau says he's here, then he's here. Shadau may be sly, cruel, and cunning, but he is not a liar. Especially not about his work. By the looks of the leeches Derrick just had all over him, they're about ready, so the idea of Shadau having some fresh meat by his side is not out of the question. Standing here fighting with your sister isn't helping, agreed?"

Boomer glared at Buttercup and replied, "She is NOT my sister..."  
"You all live in the same house, the same father takes care of you, I'd say that's close enough," Dareena stated, "Face it, whether you like it or not, you're family now."

Darion pulled on Boomer's shoulder and tried to calm him. "C'mon, we'll find him, OK?"

"Let it go, Boomer," Butch added, "We need to see if Brick really IS here."

Boomer pulled away from them and walked away towards the main complex of the farm. Dareena motioned for Derrick and Darion to follow him. Derrick nodded and they ran to catch Boomer.

"Alright, let's get going," Blossom told the others. They spread out and began their search of the farm's grounds for any sign of Brick. Deep in her ever-increasingly guilty conscious, Buttercup hoped they wouldn't find him here.

Blossom, Bubbles, and Butch searched the farm's enormous kitchen "Aw, my God, what the hell is this??" Blossom heard from the dining area. She and Bubbles shot over the pick-up window and saw Butch standing over a spilled table. On the floor was a pile of rotten food, half eaten, that had obviously been there for quite awhile.

Blossom let out a sigh of relief. "Don't do that to me. I thought you found something."

"Yeah, I'm still tryin' to figure out what it is!" he replied.

"Eww!" Bubbles squealed.

Butch nodded and answered, "You're tellin' me." He floated from the mess and they continued on.

Buttercup and Dareena searched through the farm's abandoned barns to no avail. It was hot and musty in the old livestock barn as the sun's early morning rays heated the metal roof and Buttercup was getting frustrated. "I can't believe we're doin' this," she grumbled.

Dareena quickly climbed a post and searched the barn's hayloft for any sign of Brick. "Well, it's worth a shot, I guess." She found nothing and slid back down a pole to the ground. She brushed her hands off and turned to Buttercup. "Like I said, Shadau may a lot of things, but he's not a liar. How did Brick end up by himself anyway, not to mention you, too?"

Buttercup sighed and replied, "We had a little argument, that's all. He wanted to go his way, I wanted to go mine, simple as that."

"So, why couldn't you just work out your differences and stick together?" Dareena asked.

Buttercup grumbled and looked at the roof. "'Cause he's a spoiled brat, that's why!"

"OK, I see..." Dareena replied. She let out a little chuckle and shook her head.

"What?" Buttercup demanded, "What's so funny?"

Dareena sighed and replied, "Nothing, I just find it amazing that all of you accepted me easier than you accept each other."

"Well, you're different..." Buttercup began.

"Different in what way? Am I a bigger freak than you?" Dareena asked, "Let's face it, all of us, we're all freaks. I think the sooner we all figure that out, the sooner we'll quit trying to kill each other."

Buttercup looked at her toes. As she looked up again, Dareena noticed she was on the verge of tears. "Buttercup, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No," Buttercup cut her off angrily, "It's not you!" She wiped tears from her eyes and stared off towards the back of the barn. "God, if anything happened to him..."

Dareena nodded her head. "We'll find him, I promise."

Boomer, Derrick, and Darion had wandered into what looked like a communal shower/bathroom area. There were several wings to the building and as they wandered through, Derrick sniffed the air around them. He furrowed his brow and stated, "Something in here."

"Like what?" Boomer asked, "How do you know?"

"The nose doesn't lie," Derrick replied. 

They entred one section of the building to see a long line of sinks to their left and toilet stalls to their right. The rest of the building's sections had been spotless, but this one was a disaster. The walls were smeared, the floor was filthy and the large mirror over the sinks was smashed. Derrick wiped his hand on one of the walls and sniffed.

"That's gross," Boomer stated.

"Yeah, you're right," Derrick replied. He touched one of his fingers to his tongue. A look of disgust crossed his face and he spat on the floor. "Really gross."

Boomer chuckled and asked, "Well, Einstein, what is it? Somebody run out of toilet paper or what?"

Derrick wasn't laughing as he shook his head. "No, it's blood."

Boomer furrowed his brow and asked, "Brick?"

Derrick shook his head. "No, like we were. Mornaucks."

"Aw, man, that's not good," Darion stated.

Derrick looked around the room and added, "But I'm pretty sure Brick was here."

"How do you know that?!" Boomer demanded.

Derrick gave Boomer a sideways look and answered, "'Cause you guys smell different. Trust me." 

He motioned Darion to follow him and turned and headed out of the building. Boomer followed them reluctantly and asked, "Where we going?"

"I think we better find the others," Derrick answered.

"This could get really ugly," Darion declared.


	6. Diddy continues

**__**

Chapter 17

They stood in a group outside the shower building and worked out a plan. "You're sure it's Mornauck blood?" Dareena asked Derrick.

Derrick nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"OK, we don't know how many of them there are, so we need to stay close." Blossom instructed.

"At least it looks like Brick got one of 'em," Darion stated, "There's pieces of it all over the place."

"True, but that doesn't mean it was the only one," Dareena replied.

"We search the place, but let's keep it quiet, agreed?" Blossom said. They all nodded. "Butch, you go with Dareena this time. There's only one way in and one way out of this building. Buttercup, Boomer, you guys take it and anything that comes towards it that's not friendly. Darion, you stick with me. Bubbles and Derrick, you guys take the shower stall section that Derrick saw." 

They cautiously entred the building, prepared for whatever they'd find. They went separate ways once inside and searched around the large building. 

Blossom followed Darion into the section he, Boomer, and Derrick had found. Blossom cringed as she saw the blood all over the walls and floor. Darion looked at the row of sinks and dropped to his knees. He reached under one and dragged out Brick's red baseball hat. It was soaked with blood and the clasp was broken.

"Aw, shit," Darion mumbled angrily. Blossom shushed him and took the hat from him. She turned to Buttercup and Boomer and held up Brick's hat. Buttercup covered her mouth with her hands in shock as Boomer hung his head. Boomer made a move to follow them, but Blossom held up her hand. She shook her head, furrowed her brow angrily, and mouthed, "Stay there!"

Boomer reluctantly retreated.

Bubbles floated down a long line of darkened shower stalls, looking all around her as Derrick followed behind her. She suddenly heard the sound of someone wheezing then a horribly congested cough. She froze when she realized that the trail on the floor was blood. It looked like someone had dragged something down the aisle. Her heart pounded as she slowly traced the trail to the end stall. The wheezing got consistently louder as she approached the stall, then suddenly stopped. She motioned to Derrick to hush as she gently pushed on the door. It was locked, so she slowly leaned to the crack between the door and its frame. There was something in the stall.

Her heart raced as she quietly drifted up to peek into the narrow space between the shower's exterior divider and the roof and look into the stall. She spun around as her hands flew to her mouth in shock. Tears began streaming down her face as Derrick shrugged. She shot passed him and back out to the others. Having no desire to face whatever Bubbles had seen on his own, Derrick took off running after her.

"The end one, on the right," Bubbles pointed out, her voice shaky as she tried to stop her tears. 

Boomer floated up to the top of the shower stall and looked over the wall. He turned around, leaned his back on the stall and slid down. 

"Is it him?" Blossom asked, afraid of the response. Without looking at her, Boomer closed his eyes and slowly nodded.

"Oh man," Derrick mumbled.

Darion furrowed his brow in anger and glared at the group. He got down on his knees and went to crawl under the stall's door.

"Darion, wait!" Dareena whispered as she grabbed Darion by his belt loops. Darion snarled at her and shoved her back. Dareena held her hands up and backed away, realizing that Darion was intent on going into the stall.

Darion ducked under the stall door and maneuvered around in the cramped area. He looked up to the ledge at the back of the stall. There sat Brick with his knees drawn up to his chest and his head leaning on the back wall of the shower. He was drenched in his own blood, his clothes were torn in several places, and his right hand lay limp on the ledge next to him. Darion cautiously crept over to Brick and gently laid a hand on Brick's right shoulder. Brick jumped and tried to lift his head from the wall. He mumbled something, then began to cough as Darion quickly turned and unlocked the door. 

"Damn, he's still alive!" he told the others. Darion scooted back over to Brick as Boomer and Butch squeezed into the narrow stall. They picked him up as Darion held his head up and carried him out to the sink area. Brick groaned and tried to get loose from them as they laid him down. He was weak, groggy and glassy eyed as they gathered around him. The left side of his face was covered in blood from a vicious wound that began in the middle of his forehead, ran along side his nose and curved around his left eye which was now completely swollen shut. His lips were split open and he had long, deep slashes behind both ears. 

Dareena knelt beside him and pointed to a rack of towels by the sinks. "Buttercup, grab a bunch of those."

Buttercup shot over to the towels, grabbed as many as she could carry and took them to Dareena. Dareena balled one up and gently pressed it to Brick's face. He jerked back and struggled to get up and away from her. Butch forced Brick to lay down with his head in Butch's lap. Boomer and Blossom held his arms down while Dareena put the towel back over Brick's facial wounds. "C'mon, hold still, Brick, we're here, OK?" she soothed.

"Lemme go," he answered groggily. Brick began coughing uncontrollably and he struggled for breath. 

"Sit him up, he can't breath," Derrick instructed, "His nose is broken. You lay him down and it makes it worse."

"Sounds like the voice of experience," Blossom said as she and Boomer helped Brick sit up.

"It is," Derrick answered.

Dareena leaned towards Brick and asked, "Brick, can you hear me?"

Brick opened his right eye and looked at her. He slowly reached up and took hold of the towel she held on his left eye. He leaned over and coughed until he wheezed. Dareena saw a long stream of blood-stained mucous run out of his mouth and land on the floor. She put her arm around his shoulders as he leaned his head on her chest.

"God, his back is all cut up, too," Darion stated. He gently lifted Brick's torn shirt and shook his head upon seeing the many slashes and horrible bruises across Brick's back. 

"Gimme one of those," Darion said to Buttercup. She handed him another towel and he carefully put it over the worst of the cuts on Brick's back. Brick arched his back and groaned.

"You guys seem pretty good at this," Buttercup remarked.

Dareena nodded and replied, "We've cleaned each other up like this more times than I care to think about."

Boomer shook his head in anger. He leaned towards Brick and demanded, "Brick, what happened? Who did this to you?"

Brick pulled back from Dareena. He held the towel on his face with both hands and answered in a choked voice, "Don't...don't know...what they...were... Monsters...bunch of 'em...ugly...big...really strong." He broke into another fit of coughing and gagged on his own blood. "Hurts!" he wheezed as he leaned over with his right arm across his stomach.

"We know, Brick, we're gonna get you fixed up," Blossom assured him.

"What do we do now?" Bubbles asked as tears continued streaming down her face.

"We get him to a hospital right now," Dareena answered. She and Derrick helped Brick to his feet. He staggered and continued to cough like mad.

Boomer took his right arm and put it around his shoulders, supporting Brick as he tried to walk towards the building's door.

Blossom stood in front of him, held him by the shoulders and asked, "Brick, can you fly?"

Brick slowly shook his head. He wiped his mouth with the towel now saturated with blood. "Here, clean one," Buttercup said as she stepped to him and put a clean towel over his eye. "OK?" she asked, looking into his face as she took another towel and gently wiped his swollen lips.

He nodded as she took his left elbow and she and Boomer helped him walk out of the building.

Outside, Dareena and her brothers changed into the bat and waited as Butch and Boomer floated up to its back with Brick. They carefully laid him on the bat and watched as long tentacles grew out of its back and wrapped around Brick, holding him securely to it.

"Hang on, Brick, goin' for a ride," Butch said.

"C'mon, let's go!" Bubbles insisted. They took off into the air and headed out over the farm towards Townsville. The bat glided behind them looking all around it. The bat suddenly screeched with anger as they headed over the silo they had dropped Shadau into. Blossom ranted as she also saw that there was now a huge hole torn in the side of the structure. Shadau had escaped.

Professor and Reese were waiting for them as they arrived at Townsville Hospital with Brick. Professor looked extremely worried, and as he saw Brick, his eyes widened in shock.

"Oh no," he said.

"Now you's know why I said do not get caught alone," Reese stated sternly. He picked Brick up as they approached the door and carried him into the emergency ward.

The receptionist inside gaped as Reese approached her with Brick. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed and quickly came around the counter. She held the ward's door open for Reese, then hurried down a long hallway to the first available room. 

Brick coughed and gagged as Reese carried him. "Can't breathe," he choked.

"OK, kiddo, just hang in there," Reese answered. Reese followed the receptionist into the room and gently sat Brick on the gurney in the middle of the small room.

Brick leaned over with the towel still on his face and raggedly coughed. He couldn't spit through his battered lips, so he let the blood in his mouth run out and onto the bed. 

Boomer and Butch stood at his sides, helpless to do anything for him. Professor rounded them up and escorted them out of the room. The Girls floated after him, but he turned and quietly said, "No, Girls, you wait here. Dr. Scott will be here in just a sec, and he'll need your help, OK?"

They nodded and took up positions around Brick, not sure what Professor meant.

"Hey, how 'bout that?" Butch snickered. He pointed to Dareena and said, "You get to meet Dr. Scott!"

Dareena tilted her head and furrowed her brow, confused. "Huh?"

Butch held up his arm and showed her the dark scar from the bite mark she had left him with and grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes and groaned, "You're still sore over that, aren't you?"

Reese pointed to the waiting room outside as he took Derrick and Darion aside. "You guys get the tough job."

Derrick looked confused and asked, "Like what?"

He quietly answered, "Brick's not gonna be real happy with any of us in a few minutes, so you guys and Dareena get the job of hanging onto those two..." he pointed to Boomer and Butch as they floated behind Professor down the hallway to the waiting room. "Get it?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows.

Darion groaned, "Aww, man, they're gonna be pissed aren't they?"

Reese nodded and answered, "More than likely."

Derrick rolled his eyes and sighed. He and Darion followed Professor towards the waiting room as Reese closed the door behind him.

Bubbles watched the door close, then turned to her sisters. "What does he need us for?" she whispered.

Blossom shrugged and pushed Brick's blood-soaked hair out of his eyes as he coughed again. He leaned over as more blood ran out of his mouth and groaned. "This...sucks..." he wheezed in between breaths.

"I know," Blossom said, "Dr. Scott's gonna fix you up good as new."

"Said...I wasn't...the...one," Brick gagged.

Blossom, confused, put her arm around Brick's shoulders and pulled him to her chest. She fought back tears as he began coughing again. He began shivering and she hugged him close trying to comfort him.

The door opened and Dr. Scott came in followed by two men in maroon scrubs. Dr. Scott looked at Brick and said, "Wow, what a mess."

Brick nodded and coughed up more blood as Dr. Scott approached the bed. "Well, let's see what we have here, OK?" He gently tilted Brick's head up and carefully removed the towel Brick held over his left eye. Brick winced as Dr. Scott carefully but firmly wiped away blood from the wound around his eye. "A nasty mess," Dr. Scott stated. He indicated for one of the men with him to look over his shoulder at Brick's face. "See how it's torn open?"

"His back's all cut up, too," Blossom stated, "And he's cold."

"Another one on his leg, Dr. Scott," the man pointed out.

Dr. Scott nodded, carefully put the towel back over Brick's eye and released him. He stepped back and shook his head. "Oh, sorry, Girls, this is Kenny..." he said, pointing to the man who had been looking over his shoulder, "...and that's Dan. They're interns here at the hospital."

"How you doin', Girls?" Dan asked as Kenny waved at them.

"Better than Brick, anyway," Buttercup stated. "Is he gonna be OK?" she asked.

Dr. Scott nodded and replied, "Yep. He's got quite a few wounds, but we're going to take care of them right now."

"You...don't have'ta...talk about me...like...I'm not...here," Brick wheezed.

Dr. Scott nodded and replied, "OK, Brick, just hang in there, OK?" He turned to Kenny and said, "Bring Cart 7, I think everything we'll need is in that one."

Kenny nodded and left the room. Dr. Scott turned back to the Girls and Brick. He directed Blossom to sit on the bed behind Brick's back, Bubbles to sit at his feet as he pulled Brick's legs out from under him, and Buttercup to hover at Brick's right side. "You're fine, now," he said as if he were preparing them for a portrait and smiled.

Kenny returned with the cart and rolled it in next to Dr. Scott. Dr. Scott pulled on a pair of surgical gloves as Dan pulled out two narrow needles and one larger one. He filled them with a clear fluid from a small bottle with a rubber stopper. He turned them points up, one at a time, and tapped on them to release any air bubbles and handed one to Dr. Scott.

As Dr. Scott approached them, Brick suddenly looked up and asked, "What's...that for?" as he pointed to the syringe. Dr. Scott looked passed him and spoke to the Girls. "You Girls ready?" he asked.

They suddenly understood what their task was: They got the job of hanging onto Brick as Dr. Scott worked on closing his wounds. Blossom nodded and braced up to Brick's back. Bubbles held his feet to the bed as Buttercup and Kenny held his arms.

"Hey,...wait a sec," Brick insisted as Dr. Scott held his chin and tilted his head back. He removed the towel from Brick's eye and set it aside as Brick tried to back away from him. Blossom shoved him forward as Dr. Scott carefully dabbed Brick's swollen lips with a large gauze pad, then poked the needle into the split in Brick's upper lip. Brick jumped as if he had been stung and pushed back. 

"OWWW!" he yelled and tried to turn his head away from the needle. He pulled his left arm away from Kenny and shoved at Dr. Scott and tried to pull his feet away from Bubbles.

"C'mon, Girls, you gotta help, OK?" Dr. Scott stated as he firmly held Brick's chin. Blossom wrapped her right arm around Brick's neck and pulled him tightly to her chest, forcing him to lean back on her. He wheezed as he struggled to get away from her. Bubbles sat on his feet and held onto his legs to keep him from kicking Dr. Scott. Buttercup held onto his right arm as Kenny held his left. Dan held Brick's head still as Dr. Scott tried again. "It's OK, Brick, this will just numb you up so I can put you back together. It's gonna hurt for a minute, but just hold still, OK?" He jabbed the needle into Brick's swollen upper lip again and Brick again shoved backwards. Blossom held fast as he continued to struggle against her. 

Brick managed to get his left arm away from Kenny a second time and socked the man in the stomach. Kenny stepped back coughing and grabbed his stomach. Blossom snatched Brick's wrist and twisted his arm behind him. "Sorry, Brick, but you have to hold still!" she said in his ear.

"No...let go...," Brick huffed as he tried with the little bit of strength he had left to escape her grasp.

Dr. Scott pulled the needle out and dabbed Brick's lower lip. "Next one, Kenny," he instructed. Kenny regained his composure, took the empty syringe and handed the second one to Dr. Scott. He stuck Brick's lower lip as Brick tried like hell to get away.

"Now the tough one," Dr. Scott stated as he handed the second empty needle to Kenny and took the larger one. "This one's going to be nasty, Girls, hang on tight." He looked at Brick and said, "Close your eye and you won't see it coming. Trust me, Brick, this'll be over in a minute."

"Just...lemme go!" Brick demanded as his chest heaved. 

"Close your eye, Brick, it'll be done in a minute," Dr. Scott repeated.

Realizing he wasn't getting out of what was coming, Brick shut his eye as Dr. Scott came at him with the last needle. He screamed and writhed in agony as Dr. Scott pushed the needle into the wound alongside his nose and slowly pushed the plunger, forcing the liquid into Brick's face.

Buttercup suddenly had to look away as a single tear ran out of Brick's right eye and streamed towards his ear. She had to forcibly hold back her own tears as her emotions got the best of her. On one hand, she felt guilty for leaving Brick alone and felt as if his injuries were somehow her fault. On the other, all she wanted to do was find whoever had beaten Brick so badly and kill them.

Out in the waiting room, Boomer and Butch had heard Brick as well. "Time to go," Boomer stated. They both took off towards the room where Brick's cries echoed to help their brother. 

"Whoa, whoa!" Reese yelled.

Derrick and Darion grabbed Butch and Boomer and held them back.

"Guys, hold on!" Professor demanded. 

Dareena stepped in front of the two. "Remember what we said. If we don't hear from Blossom first, then Brick's OK."

"Tough, we're gonna make sure," Boomer declared as he tried to get passed Darion. 

"All you'll manage is to get thrown out, Boomer," Reese stated. 

"Yeah, you're right, he's yelling, but stitches are never a fun thing to experience!" Darion shouted as he held onto Boomer. 

"We stick to the plan," Derrick told them both as he held Butch, "Unless Blossom calls, we stay put."

"You both agreed earlier," Dareena reminded them.

They heard Blossom shout from down the hall, "Guys, settle down! He's gonna be OK."

Butch held up his hands and stepped back from Derrick. "Alright, alright."

Boomer and Darion glared at each other. Boomer finally shoved back from Darion and shouted, "Damn it, you look exactly like him, too!"

Darion held his ground and replied, "Can't help that, now, can I?"

"No," Boomer growled, "Guess you can't." He turned away from Darion and went back to his seat. He plopped down and hung his head. Professor sat next to him and put his arm around Boomer's shoulders. "He's OK, Boomer, just be patient."

A few hours later, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup returned to the waiting room, exhausted, to find Professor sitting in a chair, asleep, with Butch leaning on his left arm and Boomer curled up next to him with his head on Professor's right leg. Dareena, Darion, and Derrick lay piled on each other on a large pastel brown leather couch along the room's outside wall. Dareena lay in the centre with her back to the couch's deep cushioned back and Derrick leaning on her legs. Darion lay curled up on his stomach, face-to-face with Dareena, her left arm draped over his back. Blossom smiled and floated over to Reese who sat on the end of the couch near Dareena's feet. Blood from Brick's face had run down her right arm and dried, and the front of her dress was stained as well.

"How is he?" Reese whispered as he leaned forward to her.

Blossom landed in front of him and replied, "He's a mess, but they say he's gonna be OK. I don't think I ever wanna watch anybody get stapled again."

Reese nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Hell of a way to learn a lesson, but at least he's OK." he stated as Dareena, Darion, and Derrick stirred.

Boomer slowly sat up and opened his eyes. When he saw the Girls, he quickly reached over and shook Butch awake. "They're back," he said.

Butch sat up and yawned. "He OK?" 

Blossom smiled and nodded her head.

Professor woke as well as Dr. Scott entred the room. He grinned at them and pulled a chair over to sit between them.

"OK," he began, "Here's the deal. Brick's going to be OK, it's just going to be awhile. We had a heck of a time putting him back together, but we made it." He handed a chart to Professor to look at and continued, "He's got 50 plus stitches in his mouth, inside and out, about three teeth already gone, another two looking like they might come out as well. I hope those weren't his permanent teeth," he said as he looked at Professor.

Professor reluctantly nodded.

Dr. Scott shrugged and continued, "Well, dentistry isn't my specialty, but I'd say it'll be a good idea to take him to a good dentist once he's up and around again."

"What about his face?" Dareena asked.

"He'll have one wicked scar around that left eye after the stitches heal up. His nose is broken in two places and his left cheekbone is fractured just below his eye. He's young, so that should heal on its own quite nicely, " Dr. Scott said, "He's also got a pretty serious concussion, so we'll keep him here until we're sure he's over it."

"Good grief, what else?" Professor asked as he looked over the long chart.

Dr. Scott shrugged. "Bruised kidneys, the cut on his leg took almost 30 staples to close, the ones behind his ears took about ten each, and his back looked more like raw hamburger like he's been whipped. Most of the cuts required staples and stitches to close. He's got a puncture in the back of his left lung where four of his ribs are broken and a fragment pushed through it, so he's got a lot of fluid in his lungs. We've got a tube in him to let it drain until he stabilizes a bit more so we can fix that. You really want me to go on?"

"No, we get the idea," Reese answered for Professor. He looked around at the others to make sure they now understood the reason for his caution.

"Jesus," Derrick mumbled as he shook his head.

"Can we go see him at least?" Boomer asked.

"He's sleeping now, but I don't see why you can't peek in on him, sure," Dr. Scott replied. He stood up and they followed him into a long hallway to one of the I.C.U. rooms. He opened the door for them and escorted them in. Dr. Scott held Professor and Reese back in the doorway and quietly spoke to them.

The children approached the bed where Brick lay sleeping on his stomach. He had been stripped and cleaned up and his hair was still damp. He wore only a pair of green scrub shorts and had a sheet pulled over him to his waist. A large white pad covered his back and they could see that blood had oozed through it in several places. He had an I.V. needle in the crook of his left elbow that traced back over his head to a large clear plastic bag of fluid. He had another needle in the back of his right hand with a thin plastic tube that ran back to a strange machine sitting near the bed. The machine's blue casing had a short round cylinder of yellowish liquid in it and a small single pushbutton remote lying on top of it. 

Another bag hung under the bed with blood-stained fluid draining into it from Brick's lungs. They also noticed that it was filling rapidly.

Boomer floated over to him and looked at his face. Boomer saw the long line of blue stitching holding Brick's torn skin together. Both of his eyes were now blackened and his left eyelid was purple from swelling. The slash behind his left ear was red and swollen as well, and Boomer could see the metal staples Dr. Scott had used to pull the cut closed. As he hovered next to the bed, he could hear Brick's congested breathing.

Boomer leaned over to him, put his right hand on the back of Brick's neck, and grinned. "Hey, man," he said quietly, "You're gonna be OK, how 'bout that?"

"Just when you thought he was down for good, huh?" Blossom said.

"You guys have a habit of coming back unexpectedly anyway, right?" Buttercup added nervously.

They giggled quietly between themselves. Butch noticed that Brick had thick leather straps around his wrists that were attached to the underside of the bed, holding him down on the bed. Butch lifted the bottom edge of the sheet and saw the same type of straps around his brother's ankles as well. He furrowed his brow and turned to Dr. Scott. "Hey, why'd you tie him down?" he asked angrily.

Dr. Scott turned from his conversation with Reese and the Professor to answer, "It's for his own good, Butch, trust me. He's hurt pretty badly and if he moves around too much and pulls any of his staples or stitches out, he'll only make it worse."

"He's gonna be pissed when he wakes up," Darion stated.

Dr. Scott chuckled and replied, "Yeah, you're probably right, but once he pulls out of those, we'll know he's got his strength back."

He turned back to Reese and Professor. "You know, I remember when those three boys tore up the whole town," Dr. Scott told Professor, indicating Boomer and Butch as well as Brick.

Professor shook his head and replied, "They're not like that anymore."

"I understand that," Dr. Scott continued, "The point is, I don't care how bad the kid is, nobody deserves the punishment that kid took."

Reese nodded his head and crossed his arms in front of himself angrily. "We already got a pretty good idea who got to him," he stated, "We just have to track him down."

Dr. Scott nodded as he put his hand on Professor's shoulder. "I hope you do. Whoever did this to him should be dragged through the streets then shot, but you didn't hear that from me."

Reese and Professor chuckled as Dr. Scott walked away. 

"Thanks, Marty," Professor called after him. He sighed and turned to the children in the room. "C'mon, kids," he said, "Let's leave Brick alone for awhile, let him sleep."

Reese motioned to Dareena, Darion, and Derrick. "Yeah, you guys, too, let's go."

Boomer reluctantly nodded. He leaned to Brick again and said, "You behave yourself, now. No trouble-makin' without us!"

They each said their good-byes to Brick even though he didn't respond. Dareena gently kissed his forehead and rubbed his left temple. "See ya later," she whispered.

Buttercup hung back until they had all made their way to the door. "I'll be right there," she called as they left. She turned and looked at Brick. She laid her head on the bed next to him and stroked his hair. She felt a huge lump on the back of his head and gently rubbed it. She fought back her tears as she spoke to him. "Next time, don't be so bossy, OK?" she whispered, grinning. "We coulda taken those guys if we would've just stuck together, right?" Despite her efforts, tears began streaming down her face. She sniffled and finally said, "I'm so sorry, Brick. I shouldn't have left you alone. This is all my fault!"

"I think he'll understand, Buttercup." Buttercup turned to see Dareena leaning in the doorway. She quickly wiped her tears away and stammered, "Oh, um...I...I thought you had gone...with the others."

"I did," Dareena replied, "I was just checking on you." She smiled at Buttercup and asked, "You really like him, don't you?"

Buttercup chuckled weakly. "Yeah, right, we fight all the time, either he or Blossom's always in my face over one thing or another...told you, he's a spoiled brat."

"It's OK, Buttercup," Dareena stated, "So, you like him, what's the big deal?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, how would you know?"

Dareena shrugged, "Just because I'm a daywalker now doesn't mean I'm not aware. Hey, I'm still basically an animal, I got instincts."

Buttercup shook her head and wiped more tears from her face. "I don't know what's wrong with me," she began, "Back there, when Dr. Scott was sticking this needle in him, I actually saw Brick cry."

Dareena shrugged and asked, "So? What's wrong with that?"

Buttercup shook her head angrily. "You don't get it. I had to look away 'cause I've NEVER seen him cry, no matter what we've gotten into, no matter what happens, I've never seen Brick cry. He's always been the toughest, and I guess now...well,...I don't know..."

"Now it's tough to see him down, huh?" Dareena finished for her, "It's OK, he's still a kid, remember?"

"I know, but..." Buttercup paused and looked at the floor.

Dareena smiled and replied, "And now you've figured out that you really like him, right? That's not a bad thing, Buttercup."

Buttercup sighed and turned back to Brick. She leaned her chin on the back of her left hand and smiled. "OK, so I admit it," she replied, "It's only until the next time he makes me mad, anyway. I give it a week after he's back up."

Dareena smiled as well. "Yeah, OK." She turned to leave and Buttercup spoke up. 

"Don't tell any of them, OK?" she pleaded, "I'd never live that one down."

Dareena drew her fingers across her mouth as if closing a zipper. "Consider it our little secret. I'll wait up for you at the end of the hall."

"Thanks," Buttercup replied as Dareena turned and walked away. She returned to playing with Brick's hair. She grinned through her tears and said, "Hear that? Don't go getting used to this treatment. I can still kick your butt, ya know." She leaned forward and gently planted a kiss on his forehead. 

She wiped the rest of her tears away as she floated out of the room and joined Dareena at the end of the hall. She noticed the angry looks on the faces of the rest of the group. She regained her composure and floated to the group.

"What's up?" she asked innocently.

"Just brainstorming, I guess," Blossom replied, "If Brick ran into Shadau's new Mornaucks, I'm wondering what we're gonna do to beat 'em."

Buttercup chuckled and asked, "You're tellin' me YOU don't have a plan?? That's a first!"

"I wouldn't go THAT far," Blossom replied, "I'm just not sure what our best angle here is gonna be. I mean, Reese said that Mornaucks are the weakest, right?"

"If they beat the hell outta Brick, they're pretty tough," Boomer answered.

"Exactly," Blossom said, "Plus, we also gotta figure out how we're gonna keep Shadau from coming after Darion, now."

"Huh??" Darion exclaimed.

"Brick said he wasn't 'the one'," Blossom explained, "I'm guessing Shadau's Mornaucks grabbed Brick by mistake. Once they realized their mistake, they beat him up instead."

"But, why me?" Darion asked.

Blossom answered, "Told you already, Darion, you've got the same stuff in you that we have. Shadau must be trying to finish the formula for Chemical X."

"Yeah, but why did they leave Brick alive?" Derrick asked, "That's a big no-no."

"Sun came up on them, would be my guess," Dareena answered, "Remember, Mornaucks and Shadau can't take the sunlight." 

Dareena looked to Butch and asked, "If this formula is what Shadau is after, could he have gotten it from Brick?"

Butch shook his head. "No, Mojo didn't use Chemical X to make us," he explained, "Not in us."

Boomer grumbled, "I wanna find these guys so bad."

"You're not the only one," Derrick answered, "You saw the silo, right?"

They all nodded as Blossom said, "Yeah, Shadau's gone."

"How did he get out?" Bubbles asked.

"Probably had his new Mornaucks bust him out," Darion replied, "I don't know..."

"What?" Dareena prodded him, "What're you trying to say here? That they were still there?"

"Well, yeah," Darion replied, "Don't know how I know that. Just a feeling, I guess, like the creepy-crawlies you get after a roach walks over your hand."

"So, Dareena can 'hear' him, you can 'feel' him, what's your story, Derrick?" Blossom asked.

Derrick shrugged. "Guess I can smell 'em. Like you smell something you recognize, but can't quite place it."

"Is that what happened?" Butch asked him.

Derrick nodded. "Yeah, when we first found that room with all the blood on the walls. Knew something was up, just didn't know what."

Boomer grinned and stated, "This could all come in handy, huh?"

Blossom nodded as she, too, grinned. "Yeah, it could. OK, we're all in agreement here, right? We find him and his ghouls and we take them all down. I don't care what it takes, we're gonna make him pay for this."


	7. Break and Onward

…Break…

They wearily entred the Utonium residence.  Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup floated upstairs to clean up and don clean clothes as the rest of the children entred the living room.  Boomer and Butch fell into chairs as Dareena, Derrick, and Darion plopped on the couch.

"So, now what do we do?" Derrick asked tiredly.

"I don't know," Dareena answered, "I really don't."

Professor continued passed them and entred the kitchen.  He began pulling out pots and pans to make dinner for the children.  He opened the cupboards and grabbed a box of instant potatoes.  Reese followed him into the kitchen cautiously as Professor opened the refrigerator and took out milk and several eggs.  Reese watched silently as Professor poured milk into a large bowl and cracked the eggs open over it.  He stirred the ingredients methodically as Reese slowly approached the counter.

Reese paused, uncertain of how to break the silence.  Finally he spoke.  "I'm sorry, I really am."

Professor continued stirring the eggs and replied, "Yeah, so am I.  I'm sorry that after all this time, you still don't trust me."

"What are you talkin' about?" Reese asked.

"Why won't you tell me the truth?" Professor shot back, "You still keep secrets from me, and I'm beginning to wonder how many I should know."

"I told you to not get into this, remember?" Reese stated.

Professor nodded.  "OK, I'll admit, that's my fault.  But let's forget that for now.  Let's forget that one of my sons was nearly beaten to death today, OK?  Let's talk about you and Shadau.  Derrick asked you if you had ever owned a Mornauck…you said only one…Shadau was that one, wasn't he?"

Reese hung his head and slowly nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me that!" Professor suddenly exclaimed.

Reese shrugged and replied, "Just didn't seem to be something you needed to know, that's all."

"How many others were there over the years?" Professor asked sternly, "How many have I helped you get rid of?"

"Hey, the others weren't mine," Reese answered, "I swear, Shadau was the only one.  I was young and stupid, and didn't even realize what I was doing yet.  He's why I decided I'd never make any more.  The only reason I changed him in the first place was because he annoyed the shit outta me.  I figured I could at least have some control over him if I changed him, but I screwed up.  He became a Mornauck, yeah, but he continued to change.  Before I even knew it, he was a master.  Now I figure he wants to be like me."

"So, all this time, I've been nothing more than your clean-up crew, huh?" Professor asked.

Reese sighed and answered, "No, you haven't.  I swear, Shadau was the only one."

"Can he become like you?" Professor asked.

Reese shrugged and replied, "I don't know.  He shouldn't have become a master, but like I said, I didn't know what I was doing.  I guess anything's possible at this point."

"If he does, he's gonna be that much harder to get rid of, isn't he?"  They turned to see Darion standing in the doorway, a look of concern on his face.

Professor sighed and stated, "Yes, Darion, he'll be a lot harder to kill that way."

"If he can track us down, why can't you do the same with him?" Darion asked Reese.

"He figured out how to tune me out years ago, kiddo," Reese answered, "When I try to find him, it's like a bad radio signal.  Like flying blind."      

"So, what if he wins?" Darion asked innocently, "What happens to us?"

"You'll be OK," Reese stated, "He can't hurt you anymore.  You are what he wants to be.  You're stronger than him.  You're also a hell of a lot smarter.  I think that's why he wanted you guys back.  To see if you'd continue to change like he did.  I think you guys were already on your way long before we found you."

"So, we woulda been masters anyway?" Darion asked.

Reese nodded.  "Yeah, I think so.  By making you daywalkers, I just accelerated the process."

Darion nodded and crossed his arms in front of himself.  "Then we better get rid of him before that, huh?"

Reese and Professor grinned.  "Yeah, I think that's the plan," Professor agreed.

Chapter 18

He slowly opened his eye to see the top of a brunette head lying on the bed next to his face.  His eye focused further and he saw that it was Buttercup.  She had fallen asleep in a chair next to his bed with her head on her forearm.  He tried to move his left hand to wake her, then remembered the straps holding him down.  He struggled to pull out of them, but found he was still too weak to do so.  He lay there, watching her, until she finally stirred.

Buttercup lifted her head and looked around.  She looked at him and her eyes widened. 

"Hey," Brick said in a raspy voice.

"Wow, you're awake!" Buttercup exclaimed.

"Yeah, till they come in and knock me out again," he answered.

"How you feeling?" Buttercup asked.

"Like crap," Brick replied.

Buttercup stroked his head and smiled at him.  "You look like crap, too, just to be completely honest here."

"Thanks a lot," Brick mumbled.

Buttercup turned from him and floated to a small table next to the door of his room.  There was a large wicker basket filled with fruits and candy with a small card attached to it on the table.  

"You got something here," she informed him as she pulled the card off, "Want me to read it for ya?"

"Yeah, what's it say?" Brick answered.  He was extremely tired, but curious as well.

Buttercup opened the card and read, "It says, 'Get well soon, hope you're up and around soon, love and kisses, Mojo Jojo'."

Brick lifted his aching head to stare at her.  "What?!"

Buttercup snickered and stated, "I'm kidding, it's from your hockey team!"

Brick chuckled, then moaned.  "Aww, don't make me laugh.  It hurts to laugh."

Buttercup put the card back and returned to his bedside.  She continued playing with his hair.  Brick noticed tears forming in her eyes and, confused, asked, "What's your problem?"

"I feel like crap, too," she answered, "I'm so sorry, Brick, I shouldn't have left you alone.  I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I did anyway.  Now look at you."

"Not your fault," Brick explained, "Probably better you left anyway.  They woulda killed you."

"Yeah, right," Buttercup shot back, "We coulda taken them down."

"I'm serious," Brick continued, "They were lookin' for somebody.  Thought I was that somebody.  Some guy in a long white robe came in, said, 'That's not the one.'  Then they beat the hell outta me."

"Long white robe?" Buttercup repeated, "Long nose, big forehead?"

Brick nodded weakly.

"That was Shadau!" Buttercup exclaimed, "Who were they looking for?"

Brick answered, "They didn't say."

Buttercup floated into the hospital's large cafeteria.  Blossom and Dareena sat at a round table, sipping sodas and chatting.  Looking around, Buttercup saw Butch and Derrick in the line to get something to eat.  Boomer and Bubbles were at the drink fountain attempting to show Darion how it worked.  

Buttercup plopped into one of the chairs across from Blossom and let out a heavy sigh.

"You OK?" Blossom asked.

Buttercup nodded.  "Yeah, just tired, I guess.  Brick's awake."

"Wow, really?" Dareena asked.

"Yeah, he's on some pretty heavy pain killers, though.  He said they come in every couple hours and give him some and he's out like a light about 20 minutes later," Buttercup replied.

"Well, go on," Blossom instructed, "Get a drink.  You'll feel better."

Buttercup nodded and slowly floated away from the table.

"You really look out for your sisters, huh?" Dareena asked Blossom.

Blossom nodded. "Yeah, I'm kind of the 'leader'."

"So, forgive the term, but who's the 'weak link' in your trio?" Dareena asked.

Blossom chuckled and replied, "If there is such a thing, I guess it would be Bubbles.  She's so childish sometimes.  Buttercup doesn't need anybody's help, but I guess I help keep her in line."

Dareena nodded towards Butch and asked, "OK, how about those guys?  Who's the one to worry about?"

"None of 'em," Blossom answered, "You'd think Boomer, I guess because of his voice, but don't kid yourself.  He's a little ditzy sometimes, but he's just as tough and capable as Brick and Butch."

"All the more reason to worry about these new Mornaucks, I guess," Dareena thought out loud, "If they're tough enough to take one of you down, imagine what else they could do."

"Yeah, you're not kidding," Blossom mumbled.  She shook herself out of her thoughts and asked, "So, you seem to be the 'leader' with you and your brothers, too, right?  Who's the one to worry about in your group?"

Dareena chuckled and replied, "Yeah, I have to look out for them.  Darion's a lot like Bubbles.  He's so innocent, I sometimes feel sorry for him being stuck in this life.  Derrick's pretty self-sufficient, a bit moody, and mean as hell when he's mad, but he's a good kid.  I've often wondered what they would've been like if they weren't stuck here with me.  I really worry about Darion and what would happen to him if he ever ended up alone.  He's the youngest, you know."

Blossom looked amazed and answered, "I thought you were all the same age, like us.  Me, Bubbles and Buttercup are, and the Boys are a bit younger.  How old is Darion?"

Dareena looked at Darion in his fascination over the soda fountain and replied, "Oh, he's still a baby, but don't say that in front of him.  Drives him nuts.  He's only 84."

Blossom coughed and choked on her soda as her eyes widened at Dareena.  "84?!  He's 84 years old?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah, how old did you think he was?" Dareena asked.

"I thought you were all around the same age as us!" Blossom exclaimed.

"No," Dareena answered, "We've been around a bit longer than that.  That's one of the curses of being a vampire…you live forever, whether you want to or not."

"So, how old are you and Derrick, then?" Blossom asked.

"Derrick's 296, and I remember the day he came to us like it was yesterday.  Shadau took him from his father.  He lived in a little farmhouse outside of London.  I had met him on a street corner earlier in our trip there, begging for scraps.  He told me his father used to beat him pretty badly, and wouldn't feed him since he was too young to work the fields.  I couldn't believe anybody could be that heartless and cruel to a child.  I asked Shadau if there was anything we could do for him, and his solution was to take Derrick out of the situation.  Pretty simple, I guess."

"How about you?" Blossom asked cautiously, "How old are you?  Where'd you come from?"

Dareena shrugged.  "If my math serves me correctly, I'll be 415 next year.  I was born in Athens, Greece, but Shadau took me from Sheffield.  My father was a pretty successful merchant and moved our family to Sheffield for business reasons when I was about 4 years old.  He didn't count on the change of weather, though.  My entire family got sick and died within two years of moving.  My father was first, and my brothers and sisters weren't too far behind him.  My mother died on my sixth birthday.  I sat by her bed and watched her die.  I still don't know what was wrong with us, but I was sick as well, so at first, Shadau was my saviour.  I only realized how miserable my life had become later."

"I'm sorry, Dareena," Blossom blurted out as she found she had no other words to express her feelings.

Dareena again shrugged.  "It's not your fault, Blossom.  It's all in the past.  Now that Reese has made us daywalkers, hopefully life will improve for us."

"I hope so, too," Blossom stated with a smile.

Darion came running to the table with a drink cup in his hand.  

"You gotta see this!" he exclaimed referring to the soda machine.

"I know, Darion, I already saw it," Dareena replied patiently.

Darion frowned.  "I can't get one up on you, can I?"

Dareena shook her head.  "Nope."

  


**_Chapter 19_**

They paced the hospital's waiting room, looking down the hallway for any signs of Brick. It had been over three weeks, and they were both anxious and impatient.

"C'mon, where are they?" Boomer mumbled.

"Relax, will ya?" Reese stated, "Patience is a virtue, remember?"

As if in answer to Boomer's statement, they finally caught a glimpse of Brick floating down the hallway followed by Professor Utonium. He wore a maroon scrub shirt, his black shorts, still torn in several places, and his black sneakers with the laces untied. He carried a McDonald's bag and was munching on a hamburger as he approached.

"Hey, stranger!" Butch called to him.

"Hey guys," Brick answered as he landed next to the group. His left eye was still slightly swollen, but open, and the splits in his lips had healed as well.

Dareena stepped to him and gave him a hug. "I'm glad to see you up and around."

"I'm glad to BE up and around," Brick answered.

"I see you can fly again, that's good," Blossom stated as she, too, gave him a hug.

"Yeah, that's one. My fire breath is there, it just hurts like hell, but no lasers yet," Brick explained, "Even if nothin' else comes back, I'm just happy I can fly again."

"Will the rest come back?" Buttercup asked.

Brick shrugged as he took another bite of his hamburger. "I guess when my eye opens the rest of the way, my lasers will be back. Hope so, anyway.  My back hurts more than anything else.  Thought they'd NEVER get done takin' all the stitches and crap out.  I think that was worse than gettin' them put in!"

"That's because they numb you up when they put them in," Darion stated, "Not when they take 'em out."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that part out," Brick replied with a grin.

"What's with this?" Boomer asked, pointing to the IV needle still in the back of Brick's right hand.

Brick shrugged and answered, "I still got some sorta infection in my lungs.  They told me that if they took all this out, they'd just have to string me back up with it if I don't get better.  I figured it would be easier to leave it in.  That way, they can give me the antibiotics I been on since I got here.  Plus, they'll let me leave!"

"Can't blame ya there, then," Boomer chuckled.

"I dunno, three weeks, lazin' around, doin' nothing…sounds like it's right up your alley, Brick," Butch joked.

Brick rolled his eyes as the rest of the group chuckled at Butch's comment.  Brick faked laughter and shoved Butch back a step.  "Ha-ha, very funny."

"You gonna share those?" Butch asked, indicating the McDonald's bag.

Brick looked into the bag and answered, "Well, I can't eat all these myself. I'd probably throw up! There must be like twenty of 'em in here. This is the first real food I've had in awhile."

"As if you could call those 'real food'," Bubbles mumbled. She shook her head as Brick offered her the bag. "No thank you, I'm a vegetarian."

"A what?" Darion asked incredulously.

"A vegetarian!" Bubbles repeated.

"What kind of animal is a 'vegetarian'?" Darion asked, "Are they like people?"

"Vegetarians ARE people, silly!" Bubbles answered with a giggle.

"You eat PEOPLE??" Darion asked.

"No, Darion, a vegetarian is a person who only eats vegetables," Blossom explained with a giggle.

"Oh," Darion nodded, "What's a vegetable?"

"Where'd you get the hamburgers?" Buttercup asked with a chuckle as she tried desperately not to laugh at Darion.

Brick smiled and thumbed backwards. "It's an inside joke. See, every time one of the nurses came into my room, they'd always ask 'Can I get'cha anything else, honey?' I always said 'A HAMBURGER would be nice!' They gave 'em to me when they found out I was finally getting outta here today."

"Are they all cooked?" Derrick asked. The rest of the group turned to stare at him. "What?" he asked.

"They don't sell 'em if they're not cooked, Derrick!" Butch explained.

"Hey, you don't know until you ask, now, do you?" Derrick stated as he reached into the bag and pulled out a hamburger. He unwrapped it and sighed. "Oh well, better than nothing, I guess."

"C'mon, guys, I think Brick would like to go home," Professor stated.

"Definitely!" Brick answered.

Professor held the door open as all nine children left the hospital. Outside, the rest took to the air followed by the bat. Blossom stopped and turned to Brick, still on the ground. 

"You coming?" she asked.

Brick shrugged and replied, "Nah, you go on. I'm gonna take it easy for awhile."

Blossom smiled and said, "Hey, I understand." She then took off after the others, but Buttercup returned and landed next to Brick.

"I'll stay with you, how 'bout that?" she stated.

"You don't have to," Brick told her.

"Yeah, I know, but look what happened the last time I left your sorry butt behind," Buttercup answered.

"Told ya, that wasn't your fault," Brick answered.

"Yeah, I know," she replied, "But it'll make me feel better, how's that?" 

She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.

"I'm so happy you're OK, Brick, I mean that," she stammered.

Brick hugged her and said, "Hey, shit happens, right?"

Buttercup released him and smiled. She held up her hand and suddenly said, "Oh, hey, I got a present for you!"

She turned and headed for the crosswalk in front of the hospital as Reese pulled up in his black Toronado. She returned with a white plastic bag and opened it. She produced a red baseball cap and handed it to Brick.

"Hey, cool!" Brick exclaimed as he took the hat. 

"Sorry it's not your old one, it was really messed up and the clasp was busted," she explained.

"This one'll do," Brick stated as he adjusted the hat, bent it to his liking, then put it on his head backwards. "See? Besides, the old one was from Mojo…this one's from you. It's better already."

Buttercup grinned as Professor escorted them to Reese's car.  They piled in as Reese tossed his cigarette out the window.  Professor just shook his head.

"What?" Reese asked exasperated.

"Home, Alfred," Professor replied with a smirk.

Reese sighed, put the car in gear and shook his head.  "Always the comedian."


	8. 20 24

Chapter 20  
  
The next two weeks were busy ones for the group. With Professor Utonium and Reese's guidance, they began seeking out and destroying Shadau's Mornaucks. They quickly discovered that the best time to find Shadau's many minions was at dusk as they slowly crept from their daytime hiding places. Each night, they headed out and spread over Townsville to hunt down more of the monsters.  
  
Early one morning, as they returned home, drained and exhausted, Brick floated down the long hallway towards the kitchen. He turned to see Reese sitting at the computer that Darion had destroyed. He had a notebook in his lap and was intensely studying it. Brick paused a moment as he had the feeling he had seen a book similar to the one Reese held before. He shrugged and dismissed the feeling as a result of exhaustion. As Brick continued on, he heard voices coming from down in Professor Utonium's lab. He wandered down the stairs and found Professor at the working computer with Darion looking over his shoulder.  
  
"So, this is mine?" Darion asked as Brick approached. The computer screen again displayed the chemical analysis of Darion's blood. Brick sighed as he felt Professor had studied the information so much as to commit it to memory.  
  
"This is yours," Professor answered, "I just wish I could figure out what Shadau's up to. So far, none of his new Mornaucks seem to be any different. With as many as we've gotten rid of, if Shadau were trying to duplicate anything that's already in you, we would've seen something by now."  
  
"Well, they're all different. The one me, Brick, and Blossom chased down last night looked like a bear with horns!" Darion remarked.  
  
Professor chuckled, "Yes, he's definitely turned the animal world inside out."  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Brick muttered as he landed next to Darion and looked at the screen, "Ya know, 'Can't let an opportunity pass you by'."  
  
Darion turned to face him and furrowed his brow. "Where'd you hear that line?"  
  
Brick yawned and rubbed his eyes. "You're boy, Shadau."  
  
"When?" Darion asked.  
  
"Right before his goons beat the crap outta me," Brick stated.  
  
"Why, Darion?" Professor asked.  
  
Darion shook his head and answered, "That's always kind of been Shadau's 'catch phrase'. Every time he was about to try something new, that's what he'd say."  
  
"What else did he say, Brick?" Professor asked.  
  
"Nothing, really," Brick replied, "He came in and said I wasn't the right one. Didn't stop him, though. He shoved a Q-tip up my nose, then said 'Can't let an opportunity pass you by.' Then he left."  
  
"What did he do with the Q-tip?" Professor asked as he turned to face the boys.  
  
Brick shrugged and replied, "He stuck it in a little bag and took it with him."  
  
Professor looked puzzled as he stared at Brick. He rubbed his chin and mumbled, "What IS he doing?" He turned from them and opened a drawer in his desk. Turning back to Brick and Darion, they noticed he held a small white plastic tab that looked like the top of a Tic-Tac container.  
  
"Come here a second, Brick, let's try something," Professor insisted as he took Brick's hand. He pressed the tab to Brick's finger and they heard a click. Brick jumped as he felt a sharp prick from the tab. He let out a yelp as he pulled his hand away from Professor.  
  
"Hey!" he complained. Brick went to put his sore finger in his mouth, but Professor again grabbed his hand.  
  
"Hold on!" he exclaimed. He squeezed Brick's finger until a small bulb of blood had formed on the puncture wound, then gently wiped Brick's finger on a glass slide. He released Brick and quickly turned and placed the slide in his electronic microscope.  
  
"Is everybody else home now, Brick?" Professor asked as he focused the microscope's lenses on the slide..  
  
"Yeah," Brick answered, "Except for Blossom. She said she wanted to stop at the library for something."  
  
Darion raised his eyebrows. "Alone?"  
  
"No, Dareena and Derrick went with her," Brick stated.  
  
"Good," Professor muttered.  
  
"What are you doing?" Darion asked.  
  
"Let's just see if we can get a jump up in this game," Professor mumbled as he began madly typing on the computer's keyboard to feed information on Brick's blood into the analysis of Darion's.  
  
"What now?" Brick asked.  
  
"OK," Professor replied as he continued with the computer, "We already know that you have the basic ingredients of Chemical X in you, Darion."  
  
"So?" Brick grunted, "What's that got to do with anything? He ain't getting the rest from me, right? Mojo didn't use Chemical X, remember?"  
  
"No, that's what the toilet water was for, right?" Darion chuckled.  
  
"Yeah," Brick grumbled. Then he remembered the notebook he had seen Reese studying. "Hey, I think I HAVE seen that kind of notebook before!"  
  
"What notebook?" Darion asked.  
  
Brick pointed back up the stairs. "Like the one Reese has. Mojo had some like that."  
  
Professor looked stunned as he again turned to face them. "Are you serious? What was in them?"  
  
"I dunno, I couldn't read 'em, remember? They were really old, though," Brick answered.  
  
"Did they have pictures in them?" Darion asked.  
  
Brick nodded. "Hand-drawn, but yeah, there were a bunch."  
  
Professor sat back and rubbed his eyes. He let out a sigh and stated, "OK, so Mojo Jojo had some of Shadau's notebooks. That could explain where he even cooked up the idea of making you and your brothers in the first place. He would have recognized the pattern of Chemical X elements if he had one that Shadau had put it in, possibly come across the leech bit."  
  
"Yeah, but he used snails instead," Brick reminded Professor, "And he didn't have Chemical X. It's not in us!"  
  
The computer behind Professor suddenly beeped to indicate that it was through with its analysis. Professor turned to the monitor and again sighed. "It is now."  
  
"Huh?" the boys exclaimed.  
  
"Right here," Professor stated as he pointed to a chemical chart on the screen, "In fact, with Darion's blood and yours together, he's got the entire formula."  
  
"That's bad," Brick stated.  
  
"Only if he figures it out, Brick," Professor replied, "I'm thinking more like this.he's had the basic ingredients all this time, but either didn't know what he had, or,."  
  
"Or what?!" Brick demanded.  
  
"The more I look through Shadau's research notes, the more I'm convinced that the partial formula he's had just didn't strike him as 'interesting enough'," Professor stated.  
  
"Meaning?" Darion prodded.  
  
"Meaning that he's not looking for any specific thing.his research is based on what he finds that's different. Yes, the Chemical X ingredients are different, but nothing worth pursuing, in his mind," Professor explained, "So if he doesn't recognize the Chemical X as anything useful, he just moves on to another project. He tried to make something out of it at one time, but apparently gave up."  
  
"Yeah, when he was beating the hell out of me every chance he got," Darion stated angrily.  
  
"Sorry to say it, but, yes, Darion," Professor answered.  
  
"So, what's he lookin' for now?" Brick asked.  
  
"Like I said, anything that sparks his interest," Professor replied. He scrolled through several graphs and charts too quickly for either Darion or Brick to make sense out of. "What's truly strange is just how similar you two are," Professor remarked, "It's almost as if you're copies of each other!"  
  
"Would that be something for him?" Darion asked.  
  
"Nah, he said I wasn't the right one, remember?" Brick repeated.  
  
Professor suddenly sat up straight in his chair and his mouth dropped open. His eyes widened as he stared at the computer screen.  
  
"Holy cow, that's IT!" he exclaimed as he reached to the side of the monitor and began tearing through a pile of Shadau's notebooks.  
  
"Phosphorous, nitrate, ethyl alcohol, kerosene, the elements are all here!" he murmured as he continued madly at the computer keyboard, "Why didn't I see this before!"  
  
Professor rifled through one of Shadau's genuine notebooks, then returned to continue his rampage on the computer's keyboard.  
  
"The fields were frozen, he tried to melt them with fire!" Professor muttered as the printer began spitting out documents, "I remember that!"  
  
"What are you lookin' for??" Brick demanded.  
  
Without answering, Professor scooped up the notebook he had been looking at along with the computer printouts and hurried up the stairs, out of the lab.  
Chapter 21 "I've got it!" Professor exclaimed as he burst into the computer room where Reese sat. "He doesn't know about Brick's fire breath, and Darion's got the same type of chemicals in him that Brick does! It's all here! Ethyl alcohol, phosphorous, hell, even molecules from embalming fluid! Do you get it? He's trying to make the Mornaucks flame-proof! Once he analyzes the blood sample he has from Brick, he'll see the same thing!"  
  
"No," Reese mumbled, "That's not it."  
  
"That HAS to be it, Reese!" Professor insisted, "Don't you remember London? The fields he had were frozen over from the cold weather. He tried to melt them with a flame-thrower hoping they had survived! He didn't even know about my kids until recently. He probably told his Mornaucks to snatch the red-headed boy, and Brick and Darion look enough alike that they just grabbed the wrong kid."  
  
"Yeah, they do look a lot alike," Reese answered as if from a distant dream. He stared out the window and continued, "And you're right, he probably told his Mornaucks to get the red-head."  
  
Professor grinned and asked, "So you get it, right? That's what he's looking for!"  
  
"That's not what I said," Reese replied as he continued to look out the window. He let out a long sigh and shook his head. "Brick and Darion look alike, yeah, but somebody else shares a resemblance as well." He picked up the notebook he had on his lap and turned it to face Professor Utonium.  
  
Professor's jaw dropped open and a horrified look crossed his face. There was a newspaper clipping from the Townsville Times taped into the notebook and Professor recognized the scene.  
  
"Oh my God!" Professor mumbled, then quickly turned and fled the room.  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Derrick let out a long yawn as they walked down the street towards home. "Damn, I'm tired," he complained.  
  
"OK, OK," Blossom soothed, "We're going home now, so relax. It'll be light soon anyway."  
  
Dareena snickered and said, "You've got to be the only person I've ever met with her own key to the town library!"  
  
"Yeah," Blossom giggled, "I'm in there enough the head librarian decided to just give it to me. She knows I'm not going to trash the place. I love it there!"  
  
"Boring, if you ask me," Derrick snorted.  
  
Dareena shook her head. "You'll never change." She pointed to Derrick's feet and said, "Tie your sneaker before you trip and bust your face, will you?"  
  
Derrick stopped, looked down at his feet and sighed. He knelt and began untangling the laces as the girls giggled at him.  
  
Dareena suddenly paused and looked around. She furrowed her brow and looked to the sky. "What was that?"  
  
"What?" Blossom asked with a chuckle, "I don't hear anything."  
  
"Oh my God, what is that!?" Dareena shrieked.  
  
Derrick turned to look behind him, but as he did, something swooped over his head sending him rolling forward with its force. He looked up and saw that both girls were now gone and a huge bat-like creature soaring away from him. He let out a howl of anger and took off after the beast.  
  
The bat was considerably larger than the one he and his siblings could morph into, black as the night around him, and as it turned to see Derrick chasing it, Derrick noticed that its face looked like one of the missing Townsville citizens. The creature let out a bone-chilling screech, but Derrick continued after it, howling his rage at it as he went.  
  
The bat headed left and as Derrick took off across the street to keep up with it, he was suddenly caught in the glow of a pair of headlights. Derrick felt a searing pain in his left leg as the speeding car struck him, sending him up over its hood to smack into the windshield, roll over the roof, and hit the pavement with a thud. Derrick struggled to get up as the white Lincoln Continental sped away. He looked at his left leg and saw that it was horribly twisted and mangled. He lay on the street and helplessly watched both the car and the bat disappear from view.  
  
Into the Belly of the Beast  
  
Blossom struggled within the dark innards of the creature as what felt like tentacles wrapped around her entire body to hold her still. Its belly had split open like bombay doors on a B-52 and sucked her up with vacuum-like pressure. It was impossible to move and she quickly found her lasers inoperable inside the creature. She tried to draw in air to hit the beast with her ice breath, but found that the air inside the bat was thick with ether. Though she fought it with all her strength, she fell into unconsciousness with Lenny Baxter's hideously misshapened face floating in her mind.  
  
The bat was losing altitude fast as the early morning sun began to sap its strength. The Lincoln followed behind it, remaining in the shadows below. The bat gave a last scream and crashed to the ground, spilling its cargo as it rolled in the dust along side the road.  
  
The Lincoln stopped under a tree and Shadau cautiously got out and looked around. He knew he had to move quickly or risk being caught by the sun's rays himself. He hurried to the bat and watched it struggling to get up. He simply walked away from it and over to where it had ejected its passenger.  
  
"Well, what have we here? A stow-away," he smirked. Dareena slowly sat up, then her eyes widened as Shadau reached for her and grabbed her by the hair. She screamed as he picked her up and wrapped his left arm around her neck.  
  
Blossom groggily opened her eyes, but was still too dazed to get up. She saw a blurred Shadau standing before her and Dareena struggling in his grip.  
  
"Let her go," Blossom mumbled, "She's not yours anymore."  
  
"True," Shadau remarked, "She's not. Maybe later." He then dug his right hand into Dareena's back as she screamed in agony. With a flick of his wrist, he wrenched her body in separate directions. Blossom cringed as she heard a sickening crunch as Shadau snapped Dareena's spine. He then dropped her and she hit the ground like a loose sack of potatoes. Though her eyes were still open, she looked dead. Blossom could only stare at him in horror.  
  
"Maybe later."  
  
Chapter 23  
  
Reese hit the Toronado's brakes hard, sending all its occupants lurching forward and causing the tires to screech in protest. They quickly climbed out of the car to approach the struggling figure lying in the street.  
  
"Derrick!" Bubbles screamed as she zipped to his side, "What happened, where's Blossom?"  
  
Derrick panted with pain and tried to get up again. He shivered as he said, "Shadau...he's got a bat...big one..."  
  
"C'mere, kid," Reese stated as he knelt at Derrick's side. He helped Derrick sit up and examined his broken leg. "Looks like your night's officially over." He looked to Professor and said, "He needs to go to a hospital. He's already in shock."  
  
"Then get him there," Professor stated sternly. He leaned over Derrick and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. "Where did they go, Derrick? Any idea?"  
  
"Don't know," Derrick answered, "Really big bat...headed towards the hills...mines...has to be the mines..."  
  
"No way," Reese said, "You're not going after him alone."  
  
"You're right," Buttercup grunted, "He's not."  
  
"Wait a minute," Reese insisted, "You are not going out there without me. You take Derrick, I'll handle Shadau."  
  
"Hey, Blossom's our sister, pal," Buttercup barked.  
  
"And ours," Boomer added.  
  
Professor nodded and stated, "Welcome to the wonderful world of responsibility, my friend. Take care of your son first. Then catch up." He turned to Brick and said, "Go on, but don't head in until I tell you to, got it?"  
  
Brick nodded and answered, "Yeah, but we get to tear him apart."  
  
Reese suddenly grabbed Professor by the front of his shirt and glared directly into his face. "You're gonna get yourself and your kids killed, my friend," he muttered menacingly.  
  
A sly grin spread across Professor's face as he replied, "We'll just see about that, now won't we?" He broke loose from Reese's hold and turned towards an oncoming car. He flagged the vehicle down, hopped into the passenger's side, and waved as he left the scene.  
  
Reese let out a sigh and turned to Brick and the others. "Well, go on, then!" he ordered. He carefully picked Derrick up, headed to the Toronado, and gently put him in the car. He looked to them as he opened the driver's door. "Be careful. Don't get yourselves killed. And look out for your dad."  
  
Brick chuckled as Reese's car headed out of sight. "Let's go."  
  
"Wait a second, what about me?" Darion asked.  
  
"You should've gone with Reese," Butch answered, "Guess you're walkin' now."  
  
"You're not leaving me behind, damn it!" Darion shouted, "Blossom may be your sister, but Dareena's mine!"  
  
"Darion," Butch began, "You can't fly by yourself. How you gonna keep up?"  
  
"I'll hitch with one of you," Darion answered.  
  
"No," Brick grumbled, "You're not going, Darion, and we're wasting time arguing with you. Just go back to the house and..."  
  
"Do you even know where the mines Derrick mentioned are?" Darion cut him off, "Or where you're going once you get there?".  
  
"Uhhhh..." Brick stammered as he looked to his brothers. Their expressions answered his unspoken question, so he looked to Bubbles who shook her head. Buttercup only shrugged.  
  
"Funny, 'cause I do," Darion stated confidently, "I've been in there. I know where I'm going."  
  
Buttercup rolled her eyes and sighed, "Oh, c'mon, Darion, just tell us where we're going, will ya?"  
  
"Nope," Darion replied, "Not unless I go with you."  
  
"Darion," Brick started sternly as an angry look crossed his face, "We don't have time for your games."  
  
"You're right," Darion answered, "We don't. We seem to be at an impass here. You don't know where the mines are, and I'm not going to tell you unless you agree to take me with you."  
  
"We could just beat the hell out of you," Boomer grumbled.  
  
Darion chuckled as he glared at Boomer. "Not like I haven't experienced that, either." He turned to Brick and extended his hand. "Deal?"  
  
Brick let out an annoyed sigh and glared at Darion. Finally, he nodded and accepted Darion's handshake. "I'm gonna kick your butt later."  
  
A toothy grin spread across Darion's face as he answered, "You can try."  
  
Chapter 24  
  
"Darion!" Brick choked, "Ease up on my throat, will ya?"  
  
"Sorry!" Darion shouted over the whistling wind as the group traveled at super speed towards the hills and the mines where Shadau was hiding. Darion dared a peek down from Brick's back and quickly cringed. He shut his eyes and held on for dear life as they soared over the hills.  
  
They landed outside the mine's entrance and snickered at Darion as he tried to regain his balance on wobbly legs.  
  
"Not funny," he grumbled.  
  
"You don't seem to have any trouble when you fly with Derrick and Dareena," Bubbles giggled, "You're weird!"  
  
"I usually don't have to deal with the sounds of the wind whistling through my earrings, either," Darion replied, "That's what's weird!"  
  
"C'mon, let's go," Buttercup muttered.  
  
They cautiously entred the mine and followed Darion through the maze of tunnels to the rickety rails. Bubbles shivered as they crossed over the huge expanse and timidly looked over the edge.  
  
"That's a long way down," she commented, "I hope we don't fall off this."  
  
Boomer rolled his eyes and stated, "If you fall through it, Bubbles, just fly back up!"  
  
"Oh yeah!" Bubbles giggled. Then they heard the snuffling noises. "What was that?" Bubbles exclaimed.  
  
"It sounds awfully big!" Buttercup added.  
  
"That's what me, Derrick, and Dareena heard last time we were in here," Darion explained nervously, "We didn't stick around to see it."  
  
"Well, let's find out," Brick grumbled as he headed to the front of the group and went down the tunnel the sound was coming from.  
  
The noises got louder as they traveled down the tunnel, then they noticed that the walls around them seemed to glow with a strange orange light. They turned left at a junction between three tunnels and stopped short.  
  
"Holy shit!" Butch shouted.  
  
Directly in front of them was a huge beast that looked like a dragon from King Arthur's court. Its enormous head had fins larger than the sails on the biggest boat they had ever seen protruding back from its ears, its body was covered in scales as big around as a wrecking ball, its spiked tail was as long as a hockey rink, and its feet were all spiked with claws as long as the railroad ties they had walked across. It also looked as if it were made entirely of flames as it glowed orange and a strange hue similar to gas fumes surrounded it. As its huge orange eyes focused on them, it opened its long snout, revealing row upon row of long fangs, and let out a deafening roar. Bubbles, Buttercup, Brick, Butch, and Boomer nailed it with their lasers, but their attack only seemed to irritate the creature as it reared up on its hind legs and howled. It slammed its front feet down on the rock causing the entire tunnel to shake. It growled at them, then drew in a long breath. Brick suddenly knew what was coming.  
  
"Let's go!" he hollered and quickly led them back out of the tunnel. The dragon let loose with a huge blast of its fire breath that chased them back out into a huge cavern. They split up and ducked to either side of the tunnel's opening as the wall of flames shot passed them.  
  
Boomer heard the sound of water somewhere ahead of them. He grinned and shot down the next tunnel towards the sound.  
  
"Boomer!" Buttercup shouted, "Come back!"  
  
The dragon ran passed them and after Boomer as he flew down the long tunnel. Its ear-splitting screeches echoed all around them.  
  
"C'mon, Fido!" Boomer taunted the dragon, "Follow me!"  
  
He suddenly found the source of the sounds he had heard. He saw a long wooden bridge that spanned a deep chasm. He landed in the centre of the bridge and quickly looked around as the dragon howled again behind him. Falling down one wall of the trench with a deafening roar was an enormous waterfall that flowed to the bottom of the cave into a huge, never-ending whirlpool. If he could just get the dragon to follow him.  
  
The dragon stomped at the end of the bridge and growled at Boomer. Boomer slowly backed away from the dragon and chuckled at it. "C'mon, ya big gas ball, come and get me!"  
  
The dragon roared at him again and let loose with another blast of its fire breath. Boomer quickly shot up over the flames, then floated back to the bridge. The dragon was enraged by his game and began to make its way across the span after Boomer. With each step of its huge feet, the bridge creaked and groaned with the monster's weight. Boomer floated just above the bridge's wooden planks so the dragon would think he was still standing on it.  
  
"C'mon, c'mon, time's a-wasting!" Boomer taunted, "Let's see what you're really made of!"  
  
The bridge suddenly began to collapse with the dragon's weight. It looked over the side of the structure and realized where it was heading and let out a screech. The dragon fell as the bridge's weakened centre pieces splintered and tore away from the ends attached to the rock cavern on either side. Boomer hovered over the span and chuckled as the dragon plummeted to the water. "Happy trails!" he shouted.  
  
He gasped as suddenly a long leathery tentacle shot up from the dragon's body and snapped around his right leg and began pulling him down with it. Boomer tried to get loose from the dragon's grasp as it hung below him and screeched. Its tail was sucked into the whirlpool and the water's force began dragging it down into the centre of the spiral. Boomer shot a laser at the tentacle then screamed in pain as long spears grew out of sides of the tentacle and slowly pierced into his leg. In a panic, Boomer turned and grabbed for what was left of the bridge. He managed to get his upper body on the bridge, but the dragon's weight and the pull of the water were too strong for him to drag himself up any further. Boomer panted with exertion as he tried desperately to cling to the bridge, but he began slowly sliding back down with the dragon. Long splinters from the bridge's rotted wood cut his fingers as he reached the edge. He let out a scream as he finally lost his grip on the bridge.  
  
Suddenly, someome snatched his right hand, stopping his fall. He looked up to see Buttercup above him lying prone on the bridge and holding him with both hands. Her eyes widened as she, too, began to slide forward over the edge. Brick dove forward and grabbed her feet before she slid too far. He dug his heels into the planks and pulled backwards as hard as he could.  
  
"Don't you let him go, Buttercup!" he shouted, "Don't you lose him!"  
  
"I won't!" she screamed back at him.  
  
"Gimme your other hand, Boomer!" Butch shouted as he leaned over the edge of the bridge and grabbed onto Boomer's shirt.  
  
Bubbles shot over the edge and shot a laser blast at the tentacle wrapped around Boomer's leg. Boomer howled as the spears dug deeper into his leg. "Quit that!" he shouted at Bubbles, "You're only making it madder!"  
  
"What do we do?" Bubbles screamed.  
  
"We gotta get him loose!" Butch hollered.  
  
"How?" Bubbles yelled, "We can't get close enough to it! It's made of fire!"  
  
"Hang on, I got this," Darion shouted. He stood at the edge of the broken bridge and looked down at the dragon. Its blasts of fire couldn't reach up to where the group lay, nor could it reach Boomer. Its tentacle was all that was keeping it from being sucked into the whirlpool.  
  
Boomer screamed as the dragon went deeper into the pool. The muscles in his leg strained and his hip socket popped as it pulled on him. "It's gonna tear my leg off!"  
  
Darion suddenly leaped off the edge of the bridge and landed on the dragon's tentacle. He steadied himself and stood up. The dragon screeched at him and tried again to launch a fireball up to where they were.  
  
"Darion, what are you doin'?" Butch yelled, but Darion seemed not to hear him. Darion glared directly into the dragon's eyes and grinned a wicked smile. "Bye, bye!" he muttered. Then he opened his mouth and bit through the tentacle. It retracted like a rubber band and snapped Darion up into the air. With nothing to hold onto, the dragon was dragged into the whirlpool. Bubbles watched it disappear in a bloody shower of muck as it was sucked into a small tunnel at the bottom of the pool.  
  
Buttercup, Brick, and Butch fell backwards as Boomer was released. They quickly scrambled to pull him up on the bridge. Darion reached for the rocks on the side of the cavern and was horrified to see that he had misjudged his distance and missed his target. He began falling to the pool below.  
  
He watched in shock as he came closer and closer to the water's churning surface. He was suddenly grabbed and pulled back up as Bubbles caught him in midair and flew back to the bridge where the others sat, huffing and puffing over their effort to save Boomer.  
  
"Thanks, Bubbles," Darion said, "That was close."  
  
"Too close," Boomer huffed, "Thanks, guys." He began pulling on the section of dragon tentacle still clinging to his leg. He sucked in his breath in pain as he tried to pull the spears out of his skin. "Man, how do I get this thing off me?"  
  
"Wait for all the blood to drain out of it," Darion explained, "Then they'll fall off on their own."  
  
"Great," Boomer grumbled, "So for now, I have this thing hanging on me."  
  
"Can you walk at least?" Darion asked.  
  
"Doesn't matter, I'll just fly," Boomer answered.  
  
"No better time than the present," Brick stated as he stood up. He pulled Boomer up and looked back the way they had come. "We still need to find Blossom, Dareena, and Professor. We split up, tear this mine apart if necessary. Butch, Buttercup, you go back that way. Bubbles, Boomer, you go back to the other tunnel and look around. Darion, you stick with me."  
  
Buttercup threw her arms up and shouted, "Whoo-hoo! Finally, I'm not stuck with you!"  
  
Brick smirked at her as she grinned back at him. "Ha-ha," he muttered. 


End file.
